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Il mercato era disorganizzato. Malgrado ciò, il fatturato è aumentato.

Il mercato era disorganizzato. Malgrado ciò, il fatturato è aumentato.
The market was disorganized. Despite this, the revenue increased.
From Lesson 337:Concessions (ciononostante, malgrado ciò)·Italian

Questions & Answers about Il mercato era disorganizzato. Malgrado ciò, il fatturato è aumentato.

Doesn't malgrado usually require the subjunctive? Why is the indicative (è aumentato) used here?
Malgrado (although/despite) does trigger the subjunctive when it introduces a dependent clause, like malgrado il mercato fosse disorganizzato. However, in this sentence, malgrado acts as a preposition attached to the pronoun ciò (despite this). The phrase that follows, il fatturato è aumentato, is a new, independent main clause, so it simply takes the indicative.
Could I use ciononostante instead of malgrado ciò in this sentence?
Absolutely. Ciononostante (literally "this notwithstanding") means the exact same thing as malgrado ciò and functions the same way. You could easily say: Il mercato era disorganizzato. Ciononostante, il fatturato è aumentato. Both are perfect for introducing a counter-argument.
Why does aumentare take essere (è aumentato) here instead of avere?
The verb aumentare takes essere when it is intransitive—meaning the subject grows or increases on its own, as il fatturato does here. It only takes avere when it is transitive, meaning someone actively raises something (for example: L'azienda ha aumentato i prezzi - The company increased the prices).
Why do we use the imperfetto (era) in the first sentence but the passato prossimo (è aumentato) in the second?
This is a classic pairing of past tenses. The imperfetto (era) sets the scene, describing an ongoing state or background condition (the market being disorganized). The passato prossimo (è aumentato) describes the specific, completed event or change that happened against that background.
Is fatturato the only way to say "revenue" in Italian?
In a business context, il fatturato is the most common and precise term for sales revenue or turnover. It comes from the word fattura (invoice), so it literally refers to the total amount invoiced. You might also hear entrate for general "income" or "receipts."

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