KIBBUTZ SHAMIR, Israel--Progressive lens manufacturer Shamir Optical Industry (Nasdaq: SHMR), based here, posted net revenues of $20.7 million for the first quarter ended March 31, 2005, a 32.9 percent increase over year ago.

Shamir's gross profit for the quarter was $10.9 million, or 53 percent of revenues, an increase of 40.8 percent from gross profit of $7.8 million, or 50 percent of revenues in the same period last year.

Operating income was $3.8 million, or 18.2 percent of revenues for the first quarter of 2005, representing an increase of 36.9 percent from operating income of $2.7 million, or 17.6 percent of revenues in the same period last year.

Net income for the quarter was $1.9 million compared to $1.9 million for the comparable period in 2004. Pro forma net income was $1.9 million, an increase of 19.5 percent versus $1.6 million for the year ago period.

On March 11, 2005, Shamir completed its initial public offering, raising net proceeds of $42 million. As of March 31, 2005, the Company had cash and cash equivalents of $47 million.

Commenting on the results, Giora Ben-Zeev, chief executive officer of Shamir Optical attributed the company's growth to "a strong demand shift from traditional bifocal lenses to progressive lenses and positive demographic trends that position our target market, people over the age of 45, as an increasingly large percentage of the worldwide population."

Ben-Zeev said Shamir Optical plans to expand its presence in the U.S. and Europe. "In the U.S., we experienced significant organic growth during the first quarter. In Europe, we began to see the expansion of our customer base particularly in the U.K. as a result of our acquisition of Cambridge Optical Group on September1 1, 2004," he said.