(Yicai) Aug. 28 -- Shares of Anta Sports Products tumbled after the Chinese sportswear giant said its profit fell 8.9 percent in the first half of the year, despite logging record-high revenue thanks to its multi-brand strategy.

Anta Sports [HKG: 2020] fell 6.8 percent to HKD94.70 (USD12.15) a share as of 2.05 p.m. in Hong Kong today, after earlier plunging by as much as 7.5 percent.

Net profit was just over CNY7 billion (USD978.5 million) in the six months ended June 30 from a year earlier, the Fujian province-based firm said in a financial report released yesterday. Revenue jumped 14 percent to CNY38.5 billion (USD5.4 billion).

However, Anta Sports' net profit rose 15 percent when excluding its gain from the share dilution related to the listing of its Finish sports gear unit Amer Sports in February last year.

Revenue from the Anta brand jumped 14 percent to CNY16.1 billion, that from Fila climbed 6.8 percent to CNY13.1 billion, and from all other brands surged 42 percent to CNY4.6 billion, Anta Sports noted.

"We firmly believe that a differentiated and highly complementary multi-brand portfolio is the core engine of the group's sustained growth," Ding Shizhong, chairman of Anta Sports, said at an earnings conference call. "We remain committed to strengthening our existing brands by unlocking their growth potential while continuing to pursue strategic acquisitions."

In addition, Anta Sports has formed a joint management team to develop a three-to-five-year revitalization plan for Jack Wolfskin, a brand with a profound outdoor heritage and powerful brand equity the firm acquired in the first half of this year, Ding said, adding that the focus will be on reshaping its product and brand system around its core values.

In a separate announcement on the same day, Anta Sports said it linked arms with fashion giant Musinsa to set up Musinsa China, with the Chinese firm holding a 40 percent stake in the new company and the South Korean partner the rest.

Setting up the JV is still subject to regulatory approval, with the transaction likely to be completed by the end of next month, Anta Sports noted.

Editor: Martin Kadiev