SMITHFIELD – FGX International Holdings Ltd. on Thursday said its earnings from continuing operations more than doubled in the third quarter, as its acquisition of Dioptics Medical Products last year continued to boost sales.
FGX posted a profit of $6.83 million, or 30 cents a share, in the three months ended Oct. 3, up from a profit of $4.01 million, or 18 cents a share, in the same quarter a year earlier, which was one week longer. Revenue rose 14 percent to $60.58 million.
An increase in revenue from both sunglasses and prescription frames (up 70 percent) and overseas markets (up 67 percent) offset a 12 percent decline in sales of reading glasses, FGX said.
FGX CEO Alec Taylor said the company was happy with the results. “Sales of Dioptics products continued to drive growth in our sunglasses business, while our international segment benefited from expansion of a reading-glasses program at a major Canadian chain,” he said in a statement.
Taylor attributed the drop in sales of reading glasses to “a shift in the timing of two large program updates.”
FGX’s third-quarter gross profit rose to 59.3 percent from 58 percent a year earlier thanks to a favorable product mix, lower product costs and reduced freight rates. Earnings from continuing operations rose 113 percent.
Total operating expenses fell 3 percent as the company cuts spending on in-store display fixtures and other costs.
FGX also announced that it has signed a licensing agreement to sell sunglasses under the Rawlings brand. Those products will start shipping early next year.
FGX said it expects sales to grow by 4 to 8 percent and earnings to jump 20 to 30 percent next year.
“We continue to find many new opportunities for the sale of our products both at existing customers and in new channels,” Taylor said. “We also expect to derive a greater benefit from our second year of advertising reading glasses. With a modestly improving economy and better summertime weather, 2010 should be another outstanding year for FGX.”
FGX International Holdings Ltd. (Nasdaq: FGXI) is a designer and marketer of costume jewelry and nonprescription eyewear under brands including Foster Grant, Magnivision and PolarEyes. FGX has about 375 full-time employees at its headquarters in Smithfield. Additional information is available at fgxi.com.
