Sales at Italian fashion company Zegna rose by 27 percent to €1.29 billion ($1.45 billion) last year, the group which recently listed on Wall Street said on Tuesday, forecasting revenue growth in the low teens for this year.

Sales remained a touch below their €1.32 billion pre-pandemic level of 2019. The rise last year was driven by a strong performance in the United States, where revenues increased by 53 percent on a year earlier. In the key Greater China region, the biggest market for luxury groups, sales rose by 34 percent.

Zegna made its debut in New York in December after a merger with Investindustrial Acquisition Corp, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) sponsored by private equity firm Investindustrial and chaired by former UBS chief executive Sergio Ermotti. The deal gave the family-owned group an enterprise value of $3.1 billion.

Its share price closed on Monday at $10.24, unchanged from the opening price on its first day of trading on Dec. 20.

Zegna said it expects its adjusted profit margin to improve further this year from a level of around 10 percent achieved in 2021.

By Silvia Aloisi; Editors: Cristina Carlevaro and Kirsten Donovan

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