Revenue and profit both climbed 8 percent at 361 Degrees International, the Xiamen-based Chinese sportswear group, in the six months through June 30, 2026.
The number that matters here does not show up in the P&L. While the top line was rising, the company shut 318 stores across mainland China and sat on almost all of the HK$610.8 million (€67 million) it raised in a placement agreed in late April and completed in early May, most of it earmarked for growth outside the country it still calls home.
Where the margin went
Revenue hit RMB6,159.8 million (€788 million), up from RMB5,704.8 million (€730 million) a year earlier. Gross margin ticked up 0.3 percentage points to 41.8 percent, helped along by two factories the company bought outright late last year, which pushed in-house footwear production up to 39.4 percent of output from 32.1 percent.
| 361 Degrees International — Interim Income Statement | |||
| H1, six months ended 30 June (€ millions)* | |||
| H1 2026 | H1 2025 | Change | |
| Revenue | 788 | 730 | 8.0% |
| Cost of sales | 459 | 427 | 7.4% |
| Gross profit | 329 | 303 | 8.7% |
| Selling and distribution expenses | 138 | 133 | 4.2% |
| Administrative expenses | 52 | 43 | 21.7% |
| Operating profit | 154 | 146 | 5.6% |
| Income tax expense | -34 | -33 | 1.0% |
| Profit attributable to equity holders | 119 | 110 | 8.0% |
Source: 361 Degrees International Limited 2026 interim results announcement, Aug. 18, 2026. *Converted from RMB at 1 RMB = €0.128 (Aug. 19, 2026 spot rate); 2025 comparatives are back-calculated at the same current rate for consistency, not the historical rate. All figures rounded to the nearest € million.
Operating margin didn’t follow the same script. It slipped 0.4 percentage points to 19.5 percent after administrative costs jumped 21.7 percent to RMB404.5 million (€52 million). Research and development spending rose 12.9 percent, and other one-off costs pushed the line higher still, enough to eat into the margin gains the top line was posting elsewhere.
Profit attributable to shareholders rose 8.0 percent to RMB925.9 million (€119 million). Earnings per share grew a touch slower, 7.0 percent, because the April share placement added new shares to the count without adding a full six months of earnings to match.
E-commerce cools, the kids business holds
Online revenue rose 9.5 percent to RMB1,989.0 million (€255 million), and now makes up 32.3 percent of everything the company sells. The 361 Degrees Kids division grew 6.8 percent to RMB1.35 billion (€173 million).
| 361 Degrees International — Revenue by Business Line | |||
| H1, six months ended 30 June (€ millions)* | |||
| H1 2026 | H1 2025 | Change | |
| Adults footwear | 348 | 330 | 5.7% |
| Adults apparel | 232 | 205 | 13.2% |
| Kids footwear | 102 | 91 | 11.7% |
| Kids apparel | 67 | 67 | 0.5% |
| Accessories and other | 39 | 38 | 3.7% |
| Total revenue | 788 | 730 | 8.0% |
Source: 361 Degrees International Limited 2026 interim results announcement, Aug. 18, 2026. *Converted from RMB at 1 RMB = €0.128 (Aug. 19, 2026 spot rate); 2025 comparatives back-calculated at the same current rate. Rows may not sum to total due to rounding.
The e-commerce number looks softer than the picture SGIE described back in April, when the company’s own quarterly update pointed to mid-double-digit growth in e-commerce retail sales. The gap probably comes down to what’s being measured, sell-through sales at the distributor level versus revenue the company actually books, rather than a real slowdown.
The Kids division’s growth isn’t directly comparable to anything reported in April: that update tracked store-level retail sales for the children’s network, not the segment’s total revenue. But the company hasn’t spelled out its own online numbers in that kind of detail, and until it does, both are caveats worth keeping.
Visualizza questo post su Instagram
Cash raised, cash untouched
Here’s where the story gets interesting. Offline stores outside mainland China now number 1,167, and international retail sales jumped more than 80 percent year over year. Cross-border e-commerce did even better, up more than 140 percent.
All of that happened before the new money arrived. Of the HK$610.8 million (€67 million) the company raised in a placement agreed in late April and completed in early May, sold at a 10.7 percent discount to where the stock was trading, only HK$6 million (€0.7 million) had actually gone out the door by the end of June.
The company has set aside HK$488 million (€54 million) for overseas expansion, covering everything from store leases to e-commerce platforms to potential acquisitions, and doesn’t expect to finish spending it until 2029. The remaining HK$122 million (€13 million) is earmarked for general working capital and other corporate purposes, not overseas growth specifically.
Fewer doors, bigger stores
Back home, the retail network kept shrinking. Total stores on the mainland fell to 5,076 from 5,394 at the end of last year. Kids stores dropped to 2,202 from 2,364. The company isn’t hiding the strategy: it wants fewer, bigger stores, and it now runs 188 Super Premium locations, including a newly added location in Cambodia, to prove it.
| 361 Degrees International — Mainland Store Network by Region | |||
| Authorized retail stores, 361° core brand | |||
| 30 Jun 2026 | 31 Dec 2025 | Change | |
| Eastern region | 1,044 | 1,100 | -5.1% |
| Southern region | 611 | 651 | -6.1% |
| Western region | 1,046 | 1,147 | -8.8% |
| Northern region | 2,375 | 2,496 | -4.8% |
| Total mainland stores | 5,076 | 5,394 | -5.9% |
Source: 361 Degrees International Limited 2026 interim results announcement, Aug. 18, 2026. Store counts exclude 361° Kids-only points of sale and international locations.
What comes next
Guosheng Securities predicted back in April that full-year revenue would grow 9 percent and profit 11 percent. Six months in, the revenue call looks within reach. Whether it’s enough to close the valuation gap Guosheng flagged against Anta Sports and Li Ning is a different question, and one the market will answer, not the balance sheet.
