Luxottica expects to sign $100 million eyewear licence

MILAN, Italy - Ray Ban sunglasses maker Luxottica expects to sign a new eyewear licence worth at least $100 million in sales starting next year, its chief executive said on Friday. "We will strengthen the licence portfolio in the next weeks or months...the new licence that probably will come on board will start in January 2015," Andrea Guerra said.

"The licence is at least 100 million dollars," Guerra said at an investor day in Milan broadcast on the group's website. He did not say with whom the licence agreement would be. Luxottica generates most of its sales from its own brands including Ray Ban and Oakley, and also makes and distributes eyewear under licence for fashion labels Chanel and Armani.

Guerra told Reuters on Thursday the group expects to make at least 160 million euros from the Armani licence in 2014. Asked about possible acquisitions by an attendee at the investor day, Guerra said: "We are pretty confident that our combination of organic growth and acquisitions will continue."

The company bought U.S. online optical showroom glasses.com earlier this year. An analyst suggested it might now be looking to acquire Hawaii-based sunglasses maker Maui Jim or Danish eyewear manufacturer Lindberg. On Thursday, Luxottica posted fourth-quarter net profit that missed analyst expectations, due to a tax provision on transfer pricing, but full-year revenue was in line with expectations and analysts were sanguine about the results.

"Although such a miss might result in some profit taking, it has no impact on our Luxottica 2014 estimates and valuation," Citi analysts wrote in a note, reiterating the "Buy" rating on the stock with a 45 euro target price.

Shares fell 2.3 percent on Milan's bourse early on Friday but recovered losses to be quoted just 0.4 percent lower on the day at 1434 GMT, changing hands for 40.04 euros.