BERLIN, May 5 (Reuters) - German fashion house Hugo Boss saw first-quarter sales almost double in mainland China and its casualwear business returned to growth, predicting a rebound in the rest of the business in the course of 2021 as COVID-19 lockdowns ease.

Hugo Boss on Wednesday said it is confident that sales in the second quarter will almost double those of the prior-year period and it is optimistic of also generating a positive operating profit in the period although it cannot give a precise outlook. (Reporting by Emma Thomasson Editing by Riham Alkousaa)