Nike's net income up to USD469 million

Nike Inc., the world’s largest sporting-goods company, reported second-quarter profit that topped analysts’ estimates as sales of running shoes surged in North America. Net income rose to $469 million, or $1 a share, from $457 million, or 94 cents, a year earlier.

Analysts projected 97 cents a share, the average of 18 estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Nike’s profit has surpassed analysts’ projections in 21 of the past 22 quarters. “The bottom line is it’s a decent quarter,” with sales in North America and China exceeding expectations, said Chris Svezia, an analyst for Susquehanna Financial Group in New York. Nike repurchased more shares than expected and that may have helped them beat analyst projections, according to Svezia, who has a “neutral” rating on Nike shares.

“Nike posted fiscal second-quarter results, which, by most measures, was in line with our expectations. Top line revenue grew 18%, thanks to both slightly higher prices and impressive unit growth. North America, easily Nike’s biggest market, saw footwear soar 22% and apparel rise by 23%, both positive upside surprises, in our view. We also saw strength in China (up 35%) and Emerging Markets (up 27%). Though sales in Europe have languished over the past several quarters, Western Europe didn’t experience a large downturn,” commented from Seeking Alpha.
Nike has been trying to maintain profit growth amid higher raw-material and labor costs by increasing sales and raising prices. Total revenue rose 18 percent to $5.73 billion in the quarter. Nike-brand orders for December to April, excluding currency changes, advanced 13 percent, surpassing analysts’ average projection for a 12.7 percent gain. Nike rose 2.9 percent to $96.30 at 6:59 p.m. in New York. The shares had gained 9.6 percent this year through the end of today’s regular trading.

Other shares in the limelight on Thursday were JD Sports Fashion – a top raiser within the FTSE earlier this week -, SuperGroup (making the most of Christmas sales) and French Connection, which hold the worst performance within the FashionUnited Top 100 Index.