Orient: Maintains "buy" rating on ANTA SPORTS (02020) Multiple brand strategy brings more operational resilience.

Orient released a research report stating that it maintains a "buy" rating on ANTA SPORTS (02020) with a target price of HK$112.89. Its joint venture company Amer Sports, Inc. delivered outstanding performance in the third quarter, with its brands Fila, Descente, and KOLON performing strongly during the Double 11 shopping festival, demonstrating the company's strong growth momentum and global operating capabilities with multiple brands. Key points from Orient's report: Performance: Amer, a joint venture company of ANTA (with ANTA being its largest shareholder), recently announced its operating performance for the third quarter of the 25th year, with a 30% year-on-year growth in revenue and a 22% year-on-year growth in operating profit, exceeding previous market expectations. In the third quarter, Amer achieved double-digit revenue growth in all four major regional markets around the world. In particular, the Greater China region of Amer achieved a 47% year-on-year growth in revenue. Along with the third quarter report, Amer also raised its full-year revenue growth forecast from the previous 20%-21% to 23%-24%. The report believes that Amer's outstanding third quarter report once again demonstrated the company's excellent global and multi-brand operating capabilities after its acquisition (in addition to Anta, Amer's other brands such as Salomon and Wilson have also started to show strong growth potential), while also reflecting that the impact of the previous scandal on actual sales was relatively limited. From a financial perspective, Amer's strong performance provides a good guarantee for ANTA's investment income. Fila maintains steady growth, while other brands led by Descente and KOLON are expected to continue their high growth momentum, becoming a strong driving force for the company's resilience. The recent Double 11 sales event showed that the company's brands Fila, Descente, and KOLON performed well. Fila ranked first in Tmall's sports and outdoor sales, Descente ranked eighth, and KOLON ranked fourth in the outdoor category on Tmall. Combined with the previously disclosed third quarter operating data, the report expects Fila's revenue to achieve mid-single-digit growth for the full year, and other brands' revenue to exceed 40% growth. Profit forecast and investment advice: Based on the company's previous announcements and the Double 11 sales event, the report adjusted the company's profit forecast, expecting earnings per share of 4.69, 5.29, and 6.02 yuan for 2025-2027 (compared to original forecasts of 4.80, 5.54, and 6.21 yuan). Referring to comparable companies, a 22x PE valuation is applied for 2025, resulting in a target price of HK$112.89 (1 RMB = 1.09 HKD), maintaining a "buy" rating. Risk factors: Slow recovery of consumer demand, changes in trends in the sportswear industry, and increased competition.