Anta reported on Wednesday that revenue in the first six months of the year rose nearly 13 percent on $6.47 billion in revenue, led mostly by its portfolio of companies outside of its core namesake sportswear brand.
Fueled by a 44 percent boost from its smaller brands, the company surged during the period that ended on June 30 even as the main Anta flagship label saw just slight rise over the same point last year.
The company said that operating profit increased 16 percent to $1.75 billion as the operating margin was up 70 basis points to 27 percent.
“Anta Sports remains committed to building strong planning and management capabilities to drive the sustained and resilient growth of our multi-brand business, while advancing our global management system, enhancing operational efficiency and risk resilience, and creating long-term value for consumers, shareholders and society,” Anta board chairman Ding Shizhong said. “Our multi-brand strategy is not merely a matter of capital operation, it is underpinned by strong management capabilities and a commitment to delivering differentiated value to consumers. Brands are our most important assets, and we will never compromise their long-term development for short-term gains.”
Shares of Anta rose 7.7 percent at HK$77.4 ($9.87) on the Shanghai Stock Exchange on the news.
A deeper glance the company’s first half performance showed that while the core Anta brand was up 4.8 percent at $2.64 billion million, increased competition in its home market has prompted the sportswear maker to double down on its experimental retail formats. The company bet on tapping into a variety of customers through its Anta Champon, Super Anta, SV, Anta Arena, Anta Palance and Anta Zero store concepts that targeted affluent buyers, boutique shoppers and those seeking core products.
“Despite intense competition in the broader market, the brand continued to reinforce its position as China’s leading sportswear brand,” the company said it the report.
Fila was reported as its own metric outside of the smaller brands total and went up 6.1 percent on $2.2 billion in revenue for the half and representing 35 percent of Anta’s total sales in the period.
Meanwhile, the remaining brands that include Descente, Kolon Sport, Maia Active and Jack Wolfskin added $1.57 billion on a huge 44.2 percent jump over $1.1 billion from last year.
“We remain committed to investing in brand building, product innovation and R&D, while enhancing our operational capabilities and strengthening our global management expertise,” Shizhong said. “I firmly believe that Chinese enterprises are fully capable of managing global brands, and that China’s management experience will support our ambition to establish Anta as a brand for the world.”
Even with Anta’s strong first half, the company is in a transition period in its executive ranks after former Anta brand CEO Xu Yang announced his resignation in July for personal reasons after leading the company’s global expansion outside of its home market.
Yang was reassigned to a new position while executive director and group co-CEO Lai Shixian took over as interim chief.
