Free cash flow
Also: FCF
Free cash flow is cash from operations less capital expenditure and, under IFRS 16, often less lease payments as well. It is the cash available for dividends, buybacks, debt reduction or acquisitions. Definitions differ: some companies deduct acquisitions, others leave out lease payments, so the company's own reconciliation has to be read before figures are compared across companies or years.
Store openings, refits and distribution centres sit in capital expenditure, so an expansion phase can lower free cash flow while profit rises. Within a single half, stock movements are the most common reason profit and free cash flow diverge.
Anta Sports' free cash inflow on the company's definition rose 54.2% to RMB11,630m (RMB7,542m); RMB2,170m of the RMB4,088m increase is the absence of the 2025 JACK WOLFSKIN payment, and with that line removed from both halves it grew 19.7%.