A staff member works on a handmade Prada bag. AFP

Gulf Today Report

Italian luxury label Prada on Tuesday reported "robust" growth last year, driven by strong sales despite the continuing disruption of the coronavirus pandemic.

Group revenues for 2021 reached 3.36 billion euros ($3.8 billion), up 41 percent on 2020 and up eight percent on 2019, according to initial figures adjusted for exchange rate changes.

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The second half of 2021 "showed significant improvement in terms of revenues, margins and cash generation", the group, which also includes the Miu Miu, Car Shoe and Church's brands, said in a statement.

Sales in shops directly run by Prada, including online, rose 27 percent in the second half of the year compared to 2020 and 21 percent against 2019 levels.

Chief executive Patrizio Bertelli commented: "2021 was a year full of challenges but we proved to be ready and quickly responded to the needs of an extremely dynamic market."

In 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic forced the closure of many shops and halted international tourism, the label suffered a net loss of 54 million euros.