Anta Sports: revenue, profit both rise 12.9% in H1

Anta Sports Products, a Hang Seng Index constituent and China's largest sportswear group, reported revenue and underlying profit climbing at an identical 12.9% clip in the first half of 2026, a matched growth rate the Fujian-based company holds up as evidence its multi-brand strategy is outrunning a sluggish Chinese consumer market.

Revenue for the six months to June rose to RMB43.51 billion ($6.47 billion), the company said in results filed with the stock exchange on Wednesday. Profit attributable to shareholders, stripped of a one-off gain tied to the dilution of Anta's stake in Amer Sports, increased by the same 12.9% to RMB7.94 billion.

Including that gain, reported profit was considerably higher: RMB9.49 billion, up 34.9% year-on-year. The dilution gain stems from Amer Sports — owner of Arc'teryx, Salomon and Wilson — issuing new shares that reduced Anta's percentage stake even as the New York-listed unit's own revenue grew.

Hong Kong-listed shares jumped as much as 7.7% to HK$77.40, their highest level since early August, after the results landed. The board declared an interim dividend of HK$1.51 a share, up from HK$1.37 a year earlier.

Gross margin widened half a percentage point to 63.9%, and operating margin climbed to 27%, a seven-year high for the group, whose stable of brands also includes Fila, Descente and Jack Wolfskin. The company said sportswear demand in China held up better than broader consumer spending during the period, with premium and outdoor categories driving momentum.

Anta has been expanding aggressively beyond its home market this year, having completed a roughly 29% stake purchase in German sportswear group Puma in April. The interim dividend is payable on September 22.