Billionaire Del Vecchio Says Italian Companies Too Focused on Dividends

MILAN - Billionaire Leonardo Del Vecchio said Italian companies often favour dividends to growth, daily Il Corriere della Sera quoted him as saying on Tuesday.

"Dividends today are often at the expense of companies dimensional growth," he said.

Del Vecchio, 86, is the founder of eyewear giant Luxiottica, now EssilorLuxiottica, and the top investor in Italian merchant bank Mediobanca.

He is the third-largest shareholder in Italy's largest insurer Generali, where earlier this month he opposed Chief Executive Officer Philippe Donnet's bid to be reappointed to head the company next year.