LONGARONE, Italy--The Marcolin S.p.A. [MCL-IT] board of directors, chaired by Giovanni Marcolin Coffen, approved the Marcolin Group’s consolidated report for the first half of 2008.

Consolidated revenue for the first six months of the year amounted to s107.7 million, posting an increase of €3.8 million versus the same period in 2007. This was a 3.6 percent increase (+7.7 percent at constant rates), attributed by the company to the “good performance” of all the lines in its portfolio.

The company said it had successfully consolidated its presence in the market, especially in the luxury segment. Sunglasses and ophthalmic eyewear reported sales of €103.1 million, bettering the €97.7 million earned at June 30, 2007 and posting an increase of 5.6 percent on an exchange-adjusted basis.

The Group reported positive net earnings of €7.5 million compared to the €2.0 million loss posted in the first half of 2007.

For the half, sales from the U.S. were even with the prior year’s period, at €22.2 million, accounting for 20.6 percent of the company’s total. Sales in Europe of s46.1 million rose 6.4 percent, accounting for about 42 percent of the Group’s total revenues. Sales in Italy were down 10 percent, from €22.8 million in the first half last year to €20.5 million in this year’s first six months.

Sales in the rest of the world were up 20.3 percent to reach s19.8 million. EBITDA for the Group totaled s16.2 million (accounting for 15 percent of sales) compared with s9.8 million (9.4 percent of sales) achieved during the first half of 2007.

For the second quarter of fiscal 2008, sales rose 2.8 percent (7.5 percent at constant exchange rates) to s51.7 million vs. s50.3 million in the second quarter 2007. EBITDA amounted to s5.4 million (s2.6 million in the second quarter 2007), with a 10.5 percent margin on sales (vs. 5.1 percent in the second quarter 2007).

Marcolin’s net financial position showed improvement of s6.3 million versus Dec. 31, 2007, due to greater cash flow generated by operations, and was positively influenced by seasonality, the company said. This performance was in line with forecasts made for the period.

Regarding the foreseeable evolution of operations for the rest of the year, the Group said it “expects a considerable increase in profits in 2008 compared with a year earlier despite the uncertainty on the international markets, and therefore a strong return to profitability.” ■