Investing.com -- Shares of EssilorLuxottica fell on Friday after the company reported lower-than-expected revenues for the third quarter of 2024, missing analysts' estimates.
At 3:31 am (0731 GMT), EssilorLuxottica was trading 1.3% lower at €213.10.
The eyewear giant posted group revenues of €6.44 billion, falling short of projections by 2%. At constant exchange rates, the company's growth stood at 4%, underperforming the market consensus of 5.9%.
Analysts at RBC Capital Markets flagged that the company's performance was weaker than anticipated across key regions.
In Asia-Pacific, revenue growth reached 5%, significantly below the expected 9.1%, while EMEA reported 5.6% growth, against the forecasted 7.7%.
“The more discretionary focused parts of the group were key to a slowdown in EL's sales momentum in Q3 (especially in China),” said analysts at Jefferies in a note.
North America, a critical market for EssilorLuxottica, grew by only 1.6%, compared to the 2.6% forecast. Latin America was the only region to meet expectations, with growth at 10.8%.
By business segment, both the company’s Professional Solutions and Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) channels reported slight misses.
Professional Solutions saw a 3.4% growth, falling short of the expected 5.7%, with the segment's slowdown particularly evident in Europe and Asia-Pacific, despite maintaining some momentum in North America and Latin America.
The DTC segment grew by 4.6%, compared to the 5.9% market estimate, with stable performance in most regions.
EssilorLuxottica’s DTC business remained broadly consistent with its first-half 2024 results, with positive trends in North America's optical sector.
However, its Sunglass Hut division continued to struggle, though it did show signs of improvement in September.
EMEA delivered mid-single-digit growth, primarily driven by its optical segment, while Latin America saw accelerated growth due to stronger demand for sunglasses. Meanwhile, Asia-Pacific posted low single-digit positive growth.
While EssilorLuxottica reiterated its long-term revenue target of €27-28 billion, initially presented at its 2022 Capital Markets Day, RBC analysts expressed concern about the company's near-term outlook.
“We also note 4Q24 consensus estimates +6% cFX against a 2ppt tougher comparative, which looks optimistic on an underlying basis. Potential scope offset would be the consolidation of Supreme and Heidelberg Engineering from 4Q24,” said analysts at RBC.