Paris (AFP) – EssilorLuxottica, the world’s top maker of eyeglasses, said Monday that a tripling of sales of Ray-Ban Meta AI connected glasses helped drive an increase in profits. The group’s revenue climbed by 5.5 percent to 14 billion euros ($16.2 billion) in the first half of the year, with net profit edging 1.6 percent higher to 1.4 billion euros.
EssilorLuxottica’s chief executive, Francesco Milleri, said the results showed that the group is “keeping pace with our growth targets despite a volatile environment.” Like other European companies, the weak dollar impacted the company’s performance in the North American region, nearly wiping out growth in the second quarter.
EssilorLuxottica noted that AI glasses gained momentum in the first half of the year, with Ray-Ban Meta more than tripling in revenue year-over-year. It also announced new AI-enabled Oakley glasses in June. “We are leading the transformation of glasses as the next computing platform, one where AI, sensory tech, and a data-rich healthcare infrastructure will converge to empower humans and unlock our full potential,” said Milleri.
The Ray-Ban glasses, equipped with a camera, headphones, and microphones, allow wearers to prompt Meta’s AI without opening their phone by saying “Hey Meta.” The company did not provide sales figures for the glasses or comment on the minority stake that Meta has taken in it, which was disclosed earlier this month by Bloomberg.
The company is a leading manufacturer of corrective lenses as well as frames, having acquired the rights to manufacture eyewear for numerous luxury brands including Giorgio Armani, Burberry, Chanel, Dolce & Gabbana, Prada, and Versace.
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