(Yicai) Aug. 21 -- China has become the second-biggest market for Amer Sports, after the Finnish sporting equipment giant's revenue from the country jumped in the first half of the year.

Revenue from the Chinese market soared 52 percent to USD599 million in the six months ended June 30 from a year ago, accounting for nearly 28 percent of Amer’s total income in the period, the Helsinki-based company said in a financial statement released yesterday. That was behind the Americas at USD777 million.

Total revenue rose 14 percent to USD2.2 billion. Amer also turned a loss of USD78.1 million into a net profit of USD5.1 million. Moreover, the company updated its guidance for the full year for the second time this year.

“Led by our flagship Arc'teryx brand, we well exceeded our own high expectations on all key financial metrics, positioning us to deliver another strong year in 2024,” Chief Executive Officer James Zheng said in a statement released along with earnings results.

Amer’s shares [NYSE: AS] climbed 10.4 percent yesterday in New York to close at USD13.63 each.

In 2019, an investor consortium led by Chinese athletic wear behemoth Anta Sports bought Amer for EUR4.6 billion (USD5 billion). Amer owns US sports equipment maker Wilson Sporting Goods, along with Canadian outdoor clothing brand Arc’teryx and French sporting goods firm Salomon.

Arc’teryx and Salomon have become very popular in China since 2019. They contributed USD2.4 billion to Amer's overall revenue in 2022 and USD3.7 billion last year.

Salomon's penetration rate in the Chinese market doubled last year, with its store count in the country up by seven to 136 in the second quarter. Salomon expects to reach the 200-outlet milestone by the end of the year.

Wilson is also accelerating its expansion in the Chinese market. It opened its first store in Wuhan, the capital of China’s central Hebei province, in 2021 and expanded to Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and other cities this year.

Wilson's sales of the tennis racket model used by Chinese player Zheng Qinwen skyrocketed more than 20-fold on its Tmall flagship store within 48 hours after she won China's first tennis gold in the women's singles event at the Summer Olympic Games in Paris.

Editor: Futura Costaglione