MILAN, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Sales at Italian fashion company Zegna rose by 27% to 1.29 billion euros ($1.45 billion) last year, the group that recently listed on Wall Street said on Tuesday, forecasting revenue growth of at least 13% for this year.
Sales remained a touch below their 1.32 billion euro pre-pandemic level of 2019.
The rise last year was driven by a strong performance in the United States, where revenues increased by 53% on a year earlier. In the key Greater China region, the biggest market for luxury groups, sales rose by 34%.
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, which specialises in luxury menswear, an enterprise value of $3.1 billion.
Its shares were little changed at $10.26 after the results compared with an opening price of $10.24 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% achieved in 2021.
Chairman and CEO Gildo Zegna, whose family retains a majority stake in the company, ruled out expanding into categories such as womenswear or home decoration. He said growth would come from the current product range, mentioning in particular good demand for Zegna's luxury leisure clothes and sneakers.
The group is also going to ditch fur after the 2022 collections. ($1 = 0.8875 euros) (Reporting by Silvia Aloisi; Editing by Kirsten Donovan and Mark Porter)
