Moncler's shares soar 40 percent in Milan market debut

MILAN, Italy - Moncler shares jumped more than 40 percent on their first day of trading in Milan as investors scrambled to put their money into the maker of luxury down jackets, attracted by its strong revenue growth prospects.

Moncler, which started life as a ski jacket maker in the French Alps in 1952, wooed investors with the worldwide reach of its brand and consumers' seemingly unwavering appetite for chic outdoor gear.

"There was incredible demand," said Bernstein luxury goods analyst Mario Ortelli. "In the short term, I expect the company will have stronger growth than the market."

Moncler shares were changing hands at 14.32 euros by 0915 GMT on Monday after trading as high as 14.40 euros. That compared with a listing price of 10.20 euros which itself was at the top of an indicative range of 8.75-10.2 euros.

Milan's stock market overall was flat.

Moncler's revenues are expected to rise 16 percent this year and a further 18 percent next year to 670.9 million euros ($921 million), according to a document used to market the listing to investors by joint bookrunner Banca IMI.

Moncler's main shareholders raised at least 681 million euros through the share sale on Dec. 11, which was Italy's biggest initial public offering since 2010 and the biggest by an Italian company since Prada's Hong Kong listing in 2011.

Moncler received subscriptions worth 27 times the number of shares on offer, which included a "greenshoe" over-allotment option, Moncler said in a statement on Friday.

The company floated 31 percent of its equity in the share sale which initially valued it at 2.55 billion euros.

The IPO price gave the maker of $1,200 goose down jackets a forward price to earnings ratio of about 20.5 times, putting it at a hefty premium to bigger luxury peers such as Richemont and LVMH, which are trading on about 16.5 times, but at a discount to Prada, on about 23 times.

$1 = 0.7283 euros