Luxottica Group’s consolidated sales for fiscal year 2005 rose by 34.3%

Milan, Italy – January 31, 2006 - Luxottica Group S.p.A. (NYSE: LUX; MTA: LUX), global leader in the eyewear sector, today announced consolidated U.S. GAAP results for the three-month period and fiscal year ended December 31, 2005.

Financial highlights

Fourth quarter of 2005¹

• Consolidated sales: €1,118.8 million (+18.0%)
• Retail sales: €849.6 million (+15.3%); Retail comparable store sales²: +4.9%
• Total wholesale sales: €331.3 million (+28.5%)
• Consolidated operating income: €145.5 million (+39.2%); Operating margin: 13.0%
• Retail operating income: €95.0 million (+27.6%); Retail operating margin: 11.2%
• Wholesale operating income: €73.0 million (+60.7%); Wholesale operating margin: 22.0%
• Consolidated net income: €85.6 million (+43.2%); Net margin: 7.6%
• Earnings per share: €0.19 (US$0.23 per ADS)

Fiscal year 2005³

• Consolidated sales: €4,370.7 million (+34.3%)
• Retail sales: €3,298.2 million (+40.5%); Retail comparable store sales⁴: +5.5%
• Total wholesale sales: €1,310.3 million (+19.7%)
• Consolidated operating income: €602.6 million (+22.3%); Operating margin: 13.8%
• Retail operating income: €378.4 million (+21.9%); Retail operating margin: 11.5%
• Wholesale operating income: €304.3 million (+30.5%); Wholesale operating margin: 23.2%
• Consolidated net income: €342.3 million (+19.3%); Net margin: 7.8%
• Earnings per share: €0.76 (US$0.95 per ADS)

Andrea Guerra, chief executive officer of Luxottica Group, commented: “Fiscal year 2005 was an exceptional year for our Group, during which we enjoyed strong growth from both wholesale and retail operations, with sales for the year growing by 19.7% and 40.5%, respectively. In wholesale in particular, throughout the entire year we enjoyed significant additional growth in profitability thanks also to improved penetration in key markets. Cash flow generation⁵ was another strong feature of our results for the year, at €440 million.”

In 2005, Luxottica Group successfully completed the operational integration of the former Cole National business, for which the cost synergies already realized in 2005 will contribute to additional improvements in profitability in the current year. As of the fourth quarter, we entered a new stage of the integration, during which we will focus on the future growth of the businesses, especially of the Pearle Vision retail brand.

In the fourth quarter, the Group continued to see particularly strong results from retail operations in North America, with overall performance and comparable store sales growth rates across the entire 5,300-store division above those of the premium retail sector in that market. Behind a robust quarter by LensCrafters thanks to a focus on sales of premium frames and products, Sunglass Hut posted the third quarter in a row of double-digit comparable sales growth, at nearly 12%, and a strong improvement in profitability.

For the fourth quarter, the Group’s wholesale business experienced significant additional growth and improved profitability, with sales to third parties rising by 27.5 percent. Operating margin for the entire wholesale division for the quarter improved to 22.0 percent, while operating margin for the year rose by 190 bps to 23.2 percent. The performance of the wholesale business reflected the strength of Luxottica Group’s brand portfolio, with yet again more growth from Ray-Ban. Our key luxury brands also posted a strong quarter, in particular Bvlgari, Chanel, Prada and Versace. Results from the October launch of the new Dolce & Gabbana collections were also extremely strong.

Results for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2005, reflected the impact of non-cash expenses for stock options⁶ of €16.7 million.

Luxottica Group’s net debt position on December 31, 2005, reflected significant improvement of €280.8 million to consolidated net outstanding debt of €1,435.2 million, compared with net outstanding debt of €1,716.0 million on December 31, 2004.

Forecast for fiscal year 2006

Luxottica Group, based on a €1 = US$1.2444 average exchange rate for the full year, in line with the actual average exchange rate for fiscal year 2005, forecasts the following consolidated results for fiscal year 2006⁷: • Sales of between €4.7 billion and €4.8 billion, or an increase of between 8 and 10 percent • Earnings per share of between €0.89 and €0.91 (earnings per ADS of between US$1.11 and US$1.13), or an increase of between 18 and 20 percent Luxottica Group’s consolidated results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year 2005 were approved today by its Board of Directors.

About Luxottica Group S.p.A.

Luxottica Group is a global leader in eyewear, with nearly 5,500 optical and sun retail stores mainly in North America, Asia-Pacific and China and a well-balanced portfolio that comprises leading premium house and licensed brands, including Ray-Ban, the best selling sun and prescription eyewear brand in the world. Among others, the Group’s brand portfolio includes house brands Vogue, Persol, Arnette and REVO and license brands Bvlgari, Burberry, Chanel, Dolce & Gabbana, Donna Karan, Prada and Versace.

Luxottica Group’s global wholesale network touches 120 countries, with a direct presence in the key 28 eyewear markets worldwide. The Group’s products are designed and manufactured at its six Italy-based high-quality manufacturing plants and at the only China-based plant wholly-owned by a premium eyewear manufacturer. For fiscal year 2005, Luxottica Group posted consolidated net sales and net income of €4.3 billion and €342.3 million, respectively. Additional information on the Group is available at www.luxottica.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

Certain statements in this press release may constitute “forward-looking statements” as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those which are anticipated.

Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, fluctuations in exchange rates, economic and weather factors affecting consumer spending, the ability to successfully introduce and market new products, the availability of correction alternatives to prescription eyeglasses, the ability to successfully launch initiatives to increase sales and reduce costs, the ability to effectively integrate recently acquired businesses, including Cole National, risks that expected synergies from the acquisition of Cole National will not be realized as planned and that the combination of Luxottica Group’s managed vision care business with Cole National will not be as successful as planned, the impact of the application of APB 25 (Accounting for Stock Issued to Employees) and, as of January 1, 2006, the adoption of SFAS 123 (R) as well as other political, economic and technological factors and other risks referred to in Luxottica Group’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and Luxottica Group does not assume any obligation to update them.

Contacts

Luxottica Group S.p.A.

Luca Biondolillo,
Head of Communications
Email: LucaBiondolillo@Luxottica.com

Alessandra Senici,
Manager, Investor Relations
Email : AlessandraSenici@Luxottica.com

Tel.: +39 (02) 8633-4062