CHARENTON-LE-PONT, France—Essilor International (Reuters: ESSI.PA) reported that consolidated revenue for the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2017 totaled €5,661 million, a 6.6 percent increase in constant currency.

Essilor cited several factors that impacted its growth during the period, including a 2.5 percent like-for-like increase in consolidated revenue, reflecting good results at the lenses & optical instruments and equipment divisions since the beginning of the year, and a 4.1 percent positive contribution from changes in the scope of consolidation, primarily reflecting the acquisitions made in 2016. The company also experienced a slight contraction in sales for sunglasses and readers.

“Essilor intends to build on the momentum of the third quarter between now and the end of this year while also making major strides in its proposed combination with Luxottica, creating the optimal conditions for a new chapter in its history to begin in 2018," Hubert Sagnieres, chairman and CEO of Essilor, said in a statement.

Speaking to analysts on a conference call, Essilor COO Laurent Vacherot said that the company viewed the European Commission's in-depth investigation into its planned merger with Luxottica, launched last month, "with serenity and confidence," according to Reuters.

Essilor reported that revenue during the third quarter of 2017 rose 5.9 percent, to €1,752 million, excluding currency effects. Like-for-like growth during the quarter was 2.5 percent, as in the first half. The increases were driven in part by Essilor’s lenses & optical instruments division, which posted like-for-like revenue growth of 3.1 percent in the third quarter.

However, Essilor said the growth rate was negatively impacted by a series of natural disasters, including Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, as well as the earthquake that struck Mexico, along with the negative effects of tax reform in India. Essilor estimated that these events, which primarily affected its lenses & optical instruments and sunglasses & readers businesses, reduced its growth by more than 50 basis points during the quarter.

In North America, Essilor’s revenue rose by 2.3 percent like for like, despite the natural disasters. Its core U.S. lens business grew steadily and reflected continued improvement in underlying performance, notwithstanding a lackluster market. Key strategic initiatives in the optometric alliances Vision Source, PERC/IVA and Opti-Port continued to support performance, including the ongoing deployment of new offers for members of the alliance service platforms across independent ECPs. Revenue at the e-commerce businesses rose 15 percent like-for-like, in line with the first half. In North America, sales were boosted by strong results for EyeBuyDirect.

Revenue from Essilor’s sunglasses & readers unit was up 0.2 percent like-for-like in the third quarter. Growth improved over first-half 2017 levels excluding the impact of natural disasters, which mainly impacted Costa, based in Florida. Although Costa experienced significant disruption from natural disasters affecting its core regions, especially Florida as well as the Caribbean, business continued to grow, notably through e-commerce, optical frames and regional expansion, Essilor said.

Sales for Essilor’s equipment division declined by 9.4 percent like-for-like, primarily due to the postponement of deliveries for digital generators and polishers in the U.S., where sales of coating machines and consumables held up well.