Anta Sports (2020.HK), China’s largest manufacture of sports shoes, expects sales to grow 15-20% this year as it expands its network of stores, Bloomberg reported. “We expect net profit to grow even more than sales growth because we can achieve operating efforts to save expenses,” said CFO Paul Ling. Anta saw its 2009 net profit rise 40% to US$183 million against a 27% increase in sales to US$859.8 million. The company is benefiting from strong consumption in China, with nationwide retail sales rising 17.9% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2010. Same-store sales are expected to accelerate this year after growing 5-10% in 2009 even as Anta increases its outlets by 8.5% to 7,200. The company added 924 stores in 2009, taking its total to 6,591. Ling said that more money will be spent on marketing and branding in China. There are also plans to expand into overseas markets, starting with Southeast Asia, in the next three years.
Categories