Nike Posts Upbeat Q3 Earnings, But Revenue Misses Estimates

reported better-than-expected earnings for its fiscal third quarter. The Beaverton, Oregon-based company posted a quarterly profit of $791 million, or $0.89 per share, versus a year-ago profit of $682 million, or $0.75 per share. Its sales climbed 7 percent to $7.46 billion, while revenue jumped 13 percent on a currency neutral basis. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.85 per share on revenue of $7.63 billion. Constant-currency sales of Nike brand rose 11%, while constant-currency sales surged 33% for the Converse brand. North American revenue surged 6 percent to $3.25 billion in the quarter. Gross margin widened 140 basis points to 45.9 percent in the quarter, while selling and administrative expense rose 10 percent to $2.4 billion. As on February 28, 2015, inventories for Nike were $4.2 billion, a 12 percent rise versus February 28, 2014. During the quarter, the company repurchased a total of 6.5 million shares for around $612 million. Worldwide futures orders for clothing and shoes scheduled for delivery from March 2015 through July 2015 rose 2 percent, while orders excluding currency changes would have surged 11 percent "Our strong third quarter results show that our growth strategies are working, even under challenging macroeconomic conditions," said Mark Parker, President and CEO, NIKE, Inc. "NIKE has the ability to deliver consistent shareholder value due to the strength of our brand, our relentless commitment to innovation and our powerful portfolio that allows us to invest in the opportunities with the highest potential for growth as well as manage risk." Nike shares rose 0.92 percent to $99.22 in the after-hours trading session.