On May 22, Amer Sports, the parent company of Archaeopteryx, released its financial report for the first quarter of 2024. During the reporting period, Yamafen Sports achieved a revenue of 1.183 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 13%; The adjusted operating profit margin was 11%, compared to 13.4% in the same period last year; The net profit was 7 million US dollars, compared to 19 million US dollars in the same period last year.
After the financial report was disclosed, the stock price of Yamafin Sports opened down 2.18%. As of the close of the US stock market, Yamafin Sports closed at $14.76 per share, a decrease of 7.92%, with a market value of $7.5 billion.
Yamafen Sports stated that the revenue growth in the first quarter was mainly due to a 44% revenue growth rate in the outdoor functional clothing business. According to the financial report, in the first quarter of 2024, the revenue of Yamafin Sports's outdoor functional clothing business increased to $510 million. The growth of this sector was mainly driven by Archaeopteryx, and its new stores achieved double-digit expansion during the reporting period. At the same time, it still achieved comprehensive channel growth compared to the high benchmark in the first quarter of 2023. Yamafin Sports stated that in the first quarter of this year, the Archaeopteryx experienced extensive growth in various regions, led by the Asia Pacific region and the Americas, followed by Greater China and Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (hereinafter referred to as the "EMEA region").
In addition, in the first quarter, Yamafin Sports' mountain outdoor clothing and equipment business revenue increased by 6% year-on-year to $400 million, mainly due to the mid decade growth of Salomon footwear and clothing business led by the Asia Pacific and Greater China regions, partially offset by the winter sports equipment business affected by warmer weather and high inventory. Yamafen Sports's third largest segment, the ball and racket equipment business, saw a year-on-year decrease of 14% in revenue to $273 million, mainly due to the continued challenges facing the core market of Weiersheng.
In terms of channels, in the first quarter, Yamafen Sports's direct to consumer (DTC) channel revenue increased by 41% year-on-year to 489 million US dollars, achieving double-digit growth in all regions; In the outdoor functional clothing business, DTC channels achieved 46% growth, including 36% growth in comprehensive channels. The revenue of wholesale channels decreased by 1% year-on-year to 694 million US dollars, while the wholesale channels of outdoor functional clothing business achieved a 40% growth.
From the perspective of regional market performance, in the first quarter, Yamafin Sports's revenue in the Americas remained unchanged from the same period last year, at approximately $410 million. The growth in the outdoor functional clothing business in the region was offset by a decline in the ball and racket equipment business; EMEA's revenue increased by 1% year-on-year to $359 million; Revenue in Greater China and the Asia Pacific region increased by 51% and 34%, respectively, to $310 million and $104 million.
"Despite facing a high benchmark in the first quarter, the wholesale business, driven by the Archaeopteryx, still outperformed expectations overall. This enhances our confidence in achieving our full year performance guidance." According to Andrew Page, the CFO of Yamafin Sports, in its latest outlook for the 2024 fiscal year, Yamafin Sports expects the company's revenue growth rate to remain in the middle of the ten digit range, with revenue from its outdoor functional clothing business growing by over 25% year-on-year, revenue from its mountain outdoor clothing and equipment business growing in the medium to high single digits, and revenue from its ball and racket equipment business growing in the low to medium single digits.