(Yicai) Aug. 23 -- Shares of Anta Sports Products jumped after the leading Chinese sportswear brand said its profit surged 40 percent in the first half from a year earlier.

Anta [HKG: 2020] closed 9.7 percent higher at HKD85.20 (USD10.87) apiece today, after earlier soaring by as much as 12.2 percent. The benchmark Hang Seng Index rose 0.3 percent.

The net profit, excluding that from Anta's joint ventures, was CNY4.8 billion (USD664.2 million) in the six months ended June 30, the Quanzhou-based firm said in a semi-annual earnings report yesterday. Net profit including JVs rose 32 percent, while revenue climbed 14.2 percent to CNY29.7 billion (USD4.1 billion), doubling from the same period in 2019.

China is focused on boosting business development and domestic consumption, so Anta believes the stimulus measures will effectively promote retail and economic development and is very confident about the gradual economic recovery in the second half, according to the company.

The retail market bounced back normally thanks to favorable policies to stimulate domestic demand, and sales of all Anta brands rebounded in the first half, it noted.

Anta's operating revenue in the first six months of this year exceeded the combined total of China's Li Ning and Adidas China and was about the same as that of Nike China.

Operating income from Anta brand was CNY14.2 billion, while that from Fila, which Anta acquired in 2009, was CNY12.2 billion, ranking second and fifth in China, respectively, among sportswear brands.

Editor: Martin Kadiev