* Q3 sales reach 977 million euros, vs forecast 979 million
* Q3 sales up 3 percent like-for-like
* Confirms 2010 targets
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PARIS, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Essilor, the world's largest maker of corrective eye lenses, met forecasts with a 21 percent rise in third-quarter sales, driven by recovering U.S. demand, emerging-market growth and currency moves.
"Demand continued to be robust in India and China" and there was "very sharp growth in Latin America", French group Essilor said on Friday, adding a decline in the euro helped lift sales by 7.5 percent.
Third-quarter sales hit 977 million euros ($1.36 billion), compared with a 979 million forecast in a Reuters poll. Sales rose 3 percent on a like-for-like basis.
Essilor confirmed its goal for a 5-7 percent rise in full-year revenue excluding exchange rate changes and strategic acquisitions, after 5.9 percent growth in the first nine months.
The company also kept its target for a stable operating margin following last year's record 18.2 percent level.
Essilor has made 18 bolt-on acquisitions or partnerships since the beginning of the year, worth additional sales of 92 million euros. Most recently, it announced the planned acquisition of half of Israel-based Shamir Optical Industry , a lens and mould maker, for $130 million.
Next to making lenses to correct eye vision, Essilor branched out into design sunglasses and reading glasses that can be bought without a prescription when it took over U.S.-based FGX International earlier this year. Shares in Essilor, which competes with Japanese company Hoya and German group Carl Zeiss, closed little changed at 48.9 euros on Thursday, to be up 17 percent this year. (Reporting by James Regan and Caroline Jacobs; Editing by Dan Lalor) ($1 = 0.7181 euro)