Anta to prop up stock with $10b buyback

Chinese sportswear maker Anta Sports Products (2020) unveiled a share buyback plan of up to HK$10 billion as it seeks to shore up falling stock prices amid China's consumption downturn.

Anta will use up to HK$10 billion from its cash reserves to repurchase as much as 10 percent of its shares in batches over the next 18 months, the company said, adding that the current share price doesn't reflect its actual value.

Shares of the company, whose portfolio of brands includes Fila and Descente, closed 0.3 percent higher at HK$71.65 a piece in Hong Kong.

The buyback plan came after Anta reported better-than-expected profit for the first half of this year. Net income jumped 63 percent to 7.72 billion yuan (HK$8.45 billion) during this period, beating an analyst consensus of 6.1 billion yuan compiled by Bloomberg.

The company will pay HK$1.18 per share in dividend, up 44 percent from the same period a year ago.

Anta's shares have been on a roller-coaster ride this year. The stock erased most of the gains made during the first five months of the year and has since fell by almost a fourth.

Citigroup cut Anta's target price in late July and downgraded it to neutral from buy, the first non-buy recommendation for the company since March 2023, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Bloomberg and staff reporter