Safilo Group: positive results for the first half
Safilo Group has announced its results for the first six months of 2004 which confirm the company's strong growth trend.
The success of the current eyewear collections confirms the consumers' positive reaction to the products produced by the company, both own and licensed brands, and underlines the Group's absolute leadership in the high level eyewear market.
The Group's consolidated turnover since the beginning of the year has reached € 513 million, an increase, at fixed exchange rates, of 12.1% and 7,6% at current exchange rates compared to the first six months of 2003.
In particular, the second quarter of 2004 has seen in increase of 8.9% (+11% at fixed exchange rates) compared to the same period of the previous year. It is furthermore encouraging to note how the growth in sales has been seen in all the main markets in which the Group operates and particularly significant increases in turnover have been seen in some strategic markets in the Far East when compared to the first six months of 2003. The American market has also confirmed the signs of recovery already evident for eyewear products: the United States in particular has registered an increase in sales in local currency equal to 20%.The European market, excluding Italy and despite the general economic situation which is less than brilliant, has seen a significant growth in revenues (+9.6%) with expectations of further progress in the second part of the year.
The Group's profitability has significantly improved compared to the second quarter of 2003 (+62.2%), and is thanks to the increase in sales and the industrial reorganisation of the Group which have helped Safilo to make up for the negative effects deriving from the weakness of the US dollar.
Vittorio Tabacchi, Chairman of Safilo Group, commented 'I am satisfied with the results achieved in the first six months of the year and during which we have succeeded in considerably improving sales and profitability despite the fact that the current economic climate does little to favour consumer growth in sectors such as ours. The growth of the American market in particular is a very comforting sign of the future outlook and the results achieved in the Far East again seem to guarantee a high growth rate. We are further satisfied with the successful launch of our new brands, along with the success of our actions to contain company costs; this has allowed us to again achieve performance in line with recent years. The Group's debt, although significant, is however under control and allows for financial management which is consistent with the investments forecast'.
