Essilor: net income up 17.5% in 2005

The Board of Directors of Essilor International has announced its audited financial results for the year ended December 31, 2005.

Essilor turned in an excellent sales (2,424.3 million euro, +10,1%) and earnings performance (287.1 million euro, +17,5%) in 2005, successfully leveraging a favorable environment for the global ophthalmic optical industry.

The year's highlights included:
- strong growth across the globe, with the exception of a more mixed situation in Europe;
- the popularity of new products launched in 2004 and 2005, chief among them the new generation of Transitions photochromic lenses made of 1.67 high index and polycarbonate materials, Crizal Alizé antireflective lenses, Varilux Ellipse small-frame progressive lenses, Varilux Ipseo personalized progressive lenses, 1.74 ultra high-index lenses and Essilor Anti-Fatigue lenses;
- a further improvement in the product mix;
- a new increase in contribution from operations as a percentage of sales, which reached a historic high of 17.3% under IFRS;
- an ongoing external growth program, with 18 companies acquired during the year. These included The Spectacle Lens Group, the ophthalmic lens business of Johnson & Johnson Vision Care Inc.

The Board of Directors will ask shareholders to approve a dividend of €0.94 per share of common stock, an increase of 23.7% over 2005. As part of its external growth strategy, in early 2006 Essilor made five new acquisitions in Canada, the United States, India and Romania.