EssilorLuxottica Posts Solid Results for First Half 2021, Sets Target of Carbon Neutrality by 2025

CHARENTON-LE-PONT, France—EssilorLuxottica (Reuters: ESLX.PA) announced today a plan to achieve carbon neutrality within the next four years. The ambitious plan was revealed by EssilorLuxottica’s management against a backdrop of the company’s solid financial performance for the first half of 2021, which indicates a rebound from the impact of COVID-19 the prior year and a return to the pre-pandemic levels of 2019. Revenue for the Group during the first half of 2021, ending June 30, totaled €8,768 million, a +5.7 percent increase at constant exchange rates over the first half of 2019. Operating profit rose to €1,271 million, compared with a loss of €378 million a year ago and up 35.1 percent versus 2019.

Hoya Group Reports Significant Increases in Sales and Profits in First Quarter

TOKYO—Boosted by strong sales in both North America and Europe, Hoya Group (7741:JP) on Thursday reported that sales for the first quarter (April 1 through June 30) of its current fiscal year totaled 158,000 million yen, an increase of 44.5 percent from the same period of the previous fiscal year. The quarterly profit before tax totaled 51,018 million yen, and quarterly profit amounted to 41,299 million yen, up 59.7 percent and 61.1 percent, respectively. The quarterly profit margin before tax was 32.3 percent, representing a year-on-year increase of 3.1 points.

Healthy Eyes Advantage (HEA) Acquires Professional Eye Care Associates of America (PECAA)

BOCA RATON, Fla.—Healthy Eyes Advantage (HEA) announced today that it has acquired Professional Eye Care Associates of America (PECAA), expanding its commitment to the independent eyecare channel and increasing the size of the community it serves to 12,000 independent eyecare professionals (IECPs) across all 50 states. The acquisition was completed on July 27. Financial terms were not disclosed. PECAA was founded in Portland, Oregon, in 2006 by three independent optometrists. Over the past 15 years, the company has grown from a small, Northwest based organization to one of the nation’s premier doctor alliance groups serving nearly 2,000 independent ECP members.

Prevent Blindness Declares August as Children’s Eye Health and Safety Month to Educate Public on the Importance of Healthy Vision for Kids

CHICAGO—In August, as many children are headed back to school, one of the best ways to help students succeed in the classroom is to make sure they are seeing clearly. Prevent Blindness, the nation’s oldest eye health and safety nonprofit organization, has declared August as Children’s Eye Health and Safety Month to provide the public with helpful information to put kids on the path to a lifetime of healthy vision. According to the recent study, “Children’s Vision and Eye Health: A Snapshot of Current National Issues 2nd Edition,” vision has a critical role in children’s physical, cognitive, and social development, and visual functioning is a strong predictor of academic performance in school-age children.

Optical Sales Increased for the Week of July 19-25, Jobson’s Latest Weekly Tracker Shows

NEW YORK—Optical sales increased slightly last week, July 19-25, with most product/service categories on the upswing, according to Jobson’s most recent Practice Performance Tracker. The national average for gross revenue at ECP locations increased by 1 index point, bringing it to within 1 index point of the level it reached at this point last year and 3 index points above where it was in 2019. All optical sales categories, except contact lenses, experienced slight upticks last week. Exams/refractions had the largest increase of 3 index points, while contact lenses at the other end of the sales spectrum decreased by 1 index point. Rounding out the increases were lens pairs, which were up 2 index points and frame units, up 1 index point.