Essilor - Third-Quarter 2010 Report

Nine-Month Revenue up 17.6%

CHARENTON-LE-PONT, France, October 22, 2010 - Essilor International, the world leader in ophthalmic optics,
today announced its consolidated revenue for the nine months ended September
30, 2010.

Nine-month consolidated revenue

    EUR millions      2010     2009    % Change      % Change    Contribution
                                      (reported*) (like-for-like)    from
                   (9 months)(9 months)                          acquisitions

    Lenses and      2,685.0   2,396.5    +12.0%         +2.5%         +4.2%
    Optical
    Instruments
    Europe          1,047.1     989.4     +5.8%         +0.8%         +4.1%
    North America   1,162.8   1,051.5    +10.6%         +1.3%         +3.8%
    Asia-Pacific &    333.6     259.7    +28.5%         +8.4%         +5.7%
    Africa
    Latin America     141.5      95.9    +47.5%        +18.5%         +5.5%
    Equipment          91.6      71.9    +27.4%        +10.6%        +16.8%
    Readers           127.2         -      N/M           N/M           N/M
    TOTAL           2,903.8   2,468.5    +17.6%         +2.8%         +9.7%

*Currency effect: +5.1%

Consolidated revenue for the first nine months of 2010
amounted to EUR2,903.8 million, up 17.6% compared with the prior-year period.
On a like-for-like basis, revenue rose by 2.8%, led by strong growth in sales
in emerging markets and the sharp recovery in the Equipment Division.

Changes in the scope of consolidation accounted for 9.7% of
reported growth, of which 3.1% for bolt-on acquisitions and 6.6% for
strategic acquisitions (Signet Armorlite and FGX International).

The 5.1% positive currency effect resulted mainly from the
appreciation against the euro of the US and Canadian dollars, the Brazilian
real and, to a lesser extent, the Australian dollar.

For the nine months ended September 30, Essilor reported 5.9%
revenue growth excluding the currency effect and strategic acquisitions, in
line with its full-year objective.

Third quarter revenue up 21.4%

Consolidated revenue

    EUR millions   Q3     Q3    % Change      % Change     Contribution
                  2010   2009  (reported*) (like-for-like)     from
                                                           acquisitions
    Lenses and   898.0  782.9    +14.7%         +2.6%         +4.4%
    Optical
    Instruments
    Europe       339.4  324.3     +4.7%         -0.4%         +4.0%
    North        386.4  333.4    +15.9%         +1.8%         +3.7%
    America
    Asia-Pacific 119.4   89.6    +48.3%         +9.1%         +7.4%
    & Africa
    Latin         52.8   35.6    +33.3%        +21.7%         +6.2%
    America
    Equipment     31.5   22.1    +42.1%        +14.7%         +27.5%
    Readers       47.5      -      N/M           N/M            N/M
    TOTAL        977.0  805.1    +21.4%         +3.0%         +10.9%

*Currency effect: +7.5%

In the third quarter, consolidated revenue rose by 21.4% on a
reported basis.

The 3% like-for-like increase confirms the upswing in demand
observed during the first half in a still uncertain business environment.

The impact of changes in the scope of consolidation added
10.9% to growth, of which 2.9% from bolt-on acquisitions and 8% from
strategic acquisitions.

Lastly, the decline in the euro against the Company's other
billing currencies had a 7.5% positive impact on third-quarter revenue.

Performance by region and by division was as follows:

- A still-fragile recovery in Europe, where the overall
performance was affected by weakness in the Instruments Division, due to a
high basis of comparison. In the corrective lens segment, sales continued to
trend upwards in France while demand improved in Germany, the United Kingdom
and Poland. However, the situation remained difficult in Spain and Italy.

- Gains in North America. In the United States, the new
Varilux Comfort(R) New Edition and Varilux Physio(R) Enhanced(TM) lenses were
well received by independent optometrists. Sales to optical chains were
stable while demand for polarized lenses remained strong.

- Ongoing sales growth in emerging markets in Asia. Demand
continued to be robust in India and China, as well as in the ASEAN countries
where the product mix improved. On the other hand, difficult market
conditions persisted in Japan and Australia.

- Very sharp growth in Latin America. In Brazil, the strategic
development of the premium and mid-range segments generated an increase in
unit sales and an improvement in the product mix, with Crizal(R) lenses in
particular making significant gains. Growth was led by Argentina, where
Essilor increased its market share.

- Continued strong momentum for the Equipment division, which
benefited from firm demand for digital surfacing machines. The order backlog
stabilized at a high level.

- In line with forecasts, a satisfactory performance in the
Readers division, led by the success of new products.

Significant third-quarter events and other transactions

Acquisitions

In the third quarter, Essilor made five new acquisitions, of
which three in the United States, one in the United Kingdom and one in India.

In addition to the previously announced transactions with Gulf
States and PASCH (Nikon-Essilor), Essilor of America forged a partnership
with Reliable Optics, a Brooklyn, New York-based prescription laboratory that
generates approximately $4.3 million in revenue.

In the UK, Essilor acquired an 80% stake in Leicester Optical,
a prescription and edging laboratory based in Rothley with sales of EUR1.8
million.

In India, Essilor acquired a majority stake in GKB Optics
Technologies, a prescription laboratory based in New Delhi with annual
revenue of EUR0.8 million.

Since the beginning of the year, Essilor has acquired 18
companies (excluding Signet Armorlite and FGX International) representing
additional full-year revenue of approximately EUR92 million.

On October 15, Essilor announced an agreement with Kibbutz
Shamir to acquire 50% of Shamir Optical, an independent producer of
ophthalmic lenses that reported 2009 revenue of $142 million. The
transaction, which is subject to the approval of Shamir Optical's
shareholders and various regulatory authorities, is expected to close in
mid-2011.

Cash position

Between July and September, Essilor purchased 1.63 million of
its own shares on the market, at a total cost of EUR78 million. Essilor also
sold its long-standing stake in Sperian Protection to Honeywell, generating
net proceeds of EUR132 million.

Combined with these transactions, cash flow generated during
the period enabled the Company to reduce its net debt from EUR638 million at
June 30 to EUR332 million at the end of September.

Outlook

In the context of a gradual recovery in the world economy,
Essilor is continuing to diligently deploy its growth strategy, based on new
products, geographic expansion, bolt-on acquisitions and gains in the
mid-range segment. For the full year, the Company confirms its objectives of
revenue growth of 5% to 7% excluding the currency effect and strategic
acquisitions, and a stable contribution margin excluding strategic
acquisitions and changes in IFRS.

Appendix - Quarterly revenue data

    EUR millions  Q3 2010 Q2 2010 Q1 2010 Q3 2009 Q2 2009 Q1 2009
    TOTAL           977.0  1,020.9  905.8   805.1   823.0   840.4

    Europe          339.4   362.3   345.3   324.3   335.0   330.0

    North America   386.4   400.8   375.7   333.4   345.7   372.5

    Asia-Pacific    119.4   111.2   103.1    89.6    84.4    85.7

    Latin America    52.8    48.8    39.9    35.6    32.5    27.8

    Equipment        31.5    36.6    23.6    22.1    25.4    24.4
    Readers          47.5    61.4    18.3       -       -       -

A conference call in French will be held today at 9:00 a.m. CEST.

The number to dial is: +33(0)1-70-99-42-67

The conference will be available for later listening at:

hosting.3sens.com/Essilor/20101022-B74506B5/fr/

A conference call in English will follow at 10:00 a.m. CEST.

The number to dial is: +44(0)20-7138-0845

The conference will be available for later listening at:

hosting.3sens.com/Essilor/20101022-B74506B5/en/

                            ------------------------

The world leader in ophthalmic optical products, Essilor International
researches, develops, manufactures and markets around the world a wide
range of lenses to improve and protect eyesight. Its flagship brands are
Varilux(R), Crizal(R), Essilor(R), Definity(R) and Xperio(TM).

Based in France, the Company reported consolidated revenue of more than
EUR3.2 billion in 2009, with 34,700 employees and operations in 100
countries.

    For more information, please visit www.essilor.com.
    Investor Relations and Financial Communications
    Veronique Gillet - Sebastien Leroy
    Phone: +33(0)1-49-77-42-16

For more information, please contact: Investor Relations and Financial Communications, Veronique Gillet - Sebastien Leroy, Phone: +33(0)1-49-77-42-16