ZURICH (Reuters), -The Swiss watchmaker Swatch Group (SIX) stated that it expects double-digit growth in local currencies after recovering profits and sales in 2021.

It returned to a net profit of 774 million Swiss francs ($845 million), from a 53 million loss in 2020, while sales at constant currency rose nearly 30% to 7.31 billion francs, the maker of Omega and Longines watches said in a statement https://www.swatchgroup.com/en/services/archive/2022/swatch-group-key-figures-2021 on Tuesday.

Despite recovering strongly from the pandemic-related slump, sales of Swiss watches rebounded last year. However, Swatch Group is losing market share to major industry players Rolex and connected watches such as the Apple (NASDAQ) Watch.

The company’s shares fell from the blue-chip list in September, despite a significant increase in value compared to peers.

Peer Richemont saw a jump in sales thanks to its jewellery business, which is thriving amid an overall revival of luxury goods.

Swatch Group’s operating Margin reached 14% after a 0.9% increase in last year and 12.4% this year. Its Watches & Jewelry segment (excluding production) had an operating margin of 17.7% for the entire year and 18.4% in the second half.

It stated that its board would make a decision on its dividend proposal during its next meeting.

($1 = 0.9159 Swiss francs)