MILAN—Luxottica Group (NYSE: LUX) showed improvements in most areas of its business in its third quarter and the first nine months of fiscal 2007, ended Sept. 30.
 
In Q3, Luxottica’s consolidated sales rose 2.7 percent (up 8.1 percent at constant currency rates), to €1,151 million. Retail sales in the period were flat at €838 million, (up 6.4 percent at constant currency rates), while wholesale revenues rose 9.8 percent (up 12.8 percent at constant currency rates) to €395 million. Wholesale sales to third parties in Q3 rose by 10.9 percent over the same period last year (up 13.1 percent at constant currency rates).
 
Luxottica’s wholesale division posted a positive quarter despite the fact that sales in many European countries were affected by poor weather conditions during the summer, chief executive officer Andrea Guerra noted.

The company’s net income from continuing operations rose 5 percent to €112 million in the quarter.

In the first nine months of this year, Luxottica’s consolidated sales were €3,778 million, up 5.9 percent (up 11.4 percent at constant currency rates). Retail sales dropped 0.2 percent (up 6.5 percent at constant currency rates) to €2,520 million. Retail comparable store sales increased by 2 percent. Luxottica’s wholesale sales in the nine-month period were €1,514 million, a 16.4 percent increase (up 19.7 percent at constant currency rates).

Consolidated net income from continuing operations reached €395 million, an increase of 19.8 percent.

Said Guerra, “Results for the first nine months of the year reflected steady growth, thus further confirming our forecast for the full year, which we raised in July.” He noted that the nine-month increases occurred “despite a 7.5 percent weakening of the U.S. dollar against the Euro during the period and a slowdown in the U.S. economy.”