Anta Sports Products saw revenues jump by 55.5 percent to 22,812 million yuan renminbi (€2,999m-$3,524m) in the six months ended June 30, supported by strong growth in all brands and benefiting from the easing of Covid-19 restrictions. Like other Chinese sports companies, Anta has also seen demand boosted amid government-backed pressure on western brands that spoke out against sourcing from the Xinjiang region. E-commerce revenues increased by 61 percent and accounted for 27 percent of all sales.
The group’s net attributable profit jumped by 131.6 percent to RMB 3,840 million (€504.8m-$593.3m) in the first half when including its RMB 346 million (€45.5m-$53.5m) share of the loss of Amer Sports, the European group that it has partially owned since 2019. Anta’s gross margin expanded by 6.4 percentage points to 73.2 percent, led by improved marginality of the Anta brand. The operating margin also increased, rising by 1.3 percentage points to 25.9 percent.
Revenues for Amer Sports increased to RMB 7,988 million (€1,050m-$1,234m) in the first half from RMB 5,840 million the year before. Amer Sports’ Ebitda improved to a positive RMB 557 million (€767.7m-$902.3m) from a negative RMB 105 million the year earlier, while the bottom-line loss narrowed to RMB 656 million (€86.2m-$101.4m) from RMB 1,365 million.
The Anta brand saw revenues increase by 56.1 percent to RMB 10,578 million (€1,391m-$1,634m), boosted by the growth of e-commerce and improved retail market performance in mainland China, where customer demand has increased and discounts have fallen as the impact of the pandemic decreased, alongside the adoption of a new DTC business model. Anta’s e-commerce sales jumped by 70.4 percent to RMB 3,609 million (€474.5m-$557.6m). The new DTC business model accounted for revenues of RMB 3,703 million (€486.9m-$572.1m) in the period versus zero the year earlier while sales through traditional wholesale and other channels decreased by 29.9 percent to RMB 3,266 million (€429.4m-$504.6m). Anta’s gross margin jumped by 11.2 percentage points to 52.8 percent, due to the higher margins seen under the DTC model and the reduction in discounts both in stores and at the e-commerce level.
Fila, for which Anta has the rights for Greater China and Singapore, reported first-half revenues of RMB 10,827 million (€1,423m-$1,673m), up by 51.4 percent on the year earlier, also boosted by the growth of e-commerce and improved retail market performance in mainland China. Fila’s gross margin rose by 1.8 percentage points to 72.3 percent.
Other brands, including Descente, Sprandi, Kolon and Kingkow, soared by 90.1 percent to RMB 1,407 million (€185.0m-$217.4m). The gross margin of these brands rose by 5.9 percentage points to 70.4 percent.
The total number of stores in the group declined to 12,096 at the end of June from 12,427 the year earlier, as Anta continued to optimize its distribution network. Of those, 9,788 were Anta and 1,979 were Fila stores.
