By Tess Stynes
Nike Inc. said its sales rose 15% for the quarter ended
November, exceeding analysts' expectations.
Chief Executive Mark Parker had commented in September that Nike
could benefit from the popularity of athletically styled footwear
and clothes with consumers that aren't necessarily planning a
workout. Such athletic styles have been crossing over to casual
wear and even workplace attire--a fashion trend some call
"athleisure."
For the three months ended Nov. 30, Nike's overall sales reached
$7.38 billion, while analysts polled by Thomson Reuters recently
expected $7.15 billion.
Shares fell 2.1% to $95.08 in recent after-hours trading. The
stock has risen 24% over the past year through Thursday's close and
hit an all-time high of $99.76 on Nov. 28.
Nike still derives the majority of its income from North America
and footwear. However, more than half of its sales are further
afield, where economic and foreign-exchange pressures could hurt
the company's revenue and margins.
Nike said its global future orders, an indicator of coming
growth, were 7% higher than orders reported for the same period
last year. Excluding currency changes, reported orders would have
increased 11%, the company said.
The future orders are for Nike-branded footwear and apparel
deliveries set for December through April, but they don't
necessarily reflect actual revenue growth. Still, the metric is
closely followed by analysts.
For the period ended Nov. 30, Nike reported a profit of $655
million, or 74 cents a share, up from $534 million, or 59 cents a
share, a year earlier.
Analysts expected per-share profit of 70 cents.
Write to Tess Stynes at tess.stynes@wsj.com
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