Safilo up 2.3% in the first half

In the first six months of 2025, eyewear specialist Safilo posted net sales of 537.6 million euros, up 2.3% at constant exchange rates and 1.1% at current exchange rates. In the second quarter, which closed at 251.9 million euros, alongside similar growth at constant exchange rates, there was a 1.1% decline at current exchange rates, driven mainly by a weakening of the dollar against the euro by about 5%.

“In the six-month period, sales in the main wholesale channels, represented by independent opticians and retail chains, recorded high-single-digit growth. The online business showed moderate growth, holding steady at around 16% of revenues. Solid growth in Smith’s direct-to-consumer channel and continued strength in sales to pure-player Internet customers offset the underwhelming performance of Blenders’ e-commerce,” the company explained in the press release issued.

Geographically, sales in North America totaled 220.9 million euros in the six months, up 2.8% at constant exchange rates and 1.5% at current exchange rates; second-quarter sales of 102.1 million euros were up 4.8% at constant exchange rates but down 1.1% at current exchange rates.

Europe ended the half year slightly up (+1.7%, both at constant and current exchange rates), totaling 243.1 million euros, while the second quarter was essentially stable (+0.5% at constant exchange rates and +0.4% at current exchange rates) at 114.2 million euros. In the second quarter, France continued to be the main growth engine in the region; the Northern and Eastern European markets also continued to show good dynamism, driven by the group’s main owned and licensed brands. As for the first six months, performance was supported by double-digit increases for David Beckham, Tommy Hilfiger, Boss, and Marc Jacobs, with solid results in both optical frame and sunglass collections.

Asia Pacific is the fastest growing region, with +14.7% at constant exchange rates and +14.1% at current exchange rates in the first half (30.2 million euros) and +11.5% at constant exchange rates and +8.2% at current exchange rates in the second quarter (15.7 million euros). In the rest of the world, sales in the second quarter of 2025 stood at 19.8 million euros, down 5.2% at constant exchange rates and 14.9% at current exchange rates. The area’s performance was mainly affected by a slowdown in business to distributors in the Middle East, in a market environment made difficult by geopolitical tensions. In contrast, sales in Latin America grew in the second quarter, thanks to the good recovery of business in Mexico. In the first half of 2025, sales in the Rest of the World totaled 43.5 million euros, down 3.8% at constant exchange rates and 10.8% at current exchange rates.

In terms of margins, Adjusted EBITDA for the first half of the year was 62.3 million euros, up 8.1% (accounting for 11.6% of sales), while EBITDA for the second quarter rose 9% to 27.9 million euros (11.1% margin).