Anait Miridzhanian & Mimosa Spencer

(Reuters) – EssilorLuxottica is the largest global eyewear brand. The company reported strong quarterly sales growth, surpassing pre-pandemic levels. These results were boosted by the performance of the United States as well as its GrandVision acquisition.

After the quarter’s results which were slightly better than analysts’ predictions, EssilorLuxottica shares rose 2.3%. EssilorLuxottica owns Oakley and Ray-Ban sunglasses brands. It also makes spectacle frames and sunglasses for labels like Chanel and Prada.

According to the company, fourth quarter revenue was 5.58 billion euro ($6.14 billion), which is an increase of around 32% over a year ago and nearly 35% over the pre-pandemic 2019 level at constant exchange rate.

The fourth quarter revenue increased 11% compared to the pre-pandemic period of 2019 without the GrandVision acquisition.

Over 76% of Dutch eyewear retailer was acquired by the company in July. The remaining shares were then purchased by the group in January. GrandVision expanded its retail presence, which generates 50% of EssilorLuxottica sales.

RBC reports that fourth-quarter revenues beat consensus estimates by 1%.

Since last summer, the company saw a dramatic rebound in sales in North America due to economies opening up after COVID-19 restrictions.

The company’s stock has risen by almost 8% over the last year.

EssilorLuxottica claimed it targets an adjusted operating loss of 19% to 20% of revenues by 2026. That’s up from 17% in 2020.

EssilorLuxottica posted on LinkedIn Thursday that it would temporarily suspend operations in Russia. It has approximately 1,000 employees there and around 100 Lensmaster shops. The reason for this was uncertainty and disruptions.

A number of Western businesses have stopped doing business in Russia due to sanctions from the United States or Europe after the invasion of Ukraine.

Francesco Milleri (Chair Executive) and Paul du Saillant (Deputy), stated in an earnings statement that safety is our top priority at this time.

Executives said Tuesday that Russia and Ukraine represent less than 200million euros, or 1% of the group’s revenue.

Executives stated that business had started well in 2022. They didn’t see any inflation or spillover from Ukraine’s conflict into their sales figures.

(This story refiles in order to claim it is UPDATE 3 and not UPDATE 2. No changes in text.