[ET Net News Agency, 15 January 2018] Macquarie Research lifted its target price for
Anta Sports (02020) to HK$44 from HK$35, and maintained its "outperform" rating.
The research house lifted its earnings for FY2017 & FY2018 by 2% and 3%, respectively.
It expects FY2018 will be a year of investment for Anta due to higher advertising and
promotion expense from the new 8-year China Olympic Committee sponsorship and full year
loss contribution from new businesses such as Descente, Kingkow and Kolon.
This should be offset by improving FILA margins, resulting in overall stable margins for
the group, Macquarie said. It prefers Anta over Li Ning (02331) as the research house
believes Anta's new distribution centre should further enhance its supply chain to react
more quickly to consumer needs, given the fast changing consumer landscape. (KL)