Jen10122
03-18-2004, 03:43 PM
SEATTLE (March 18) - Nike Inc., the world's top maker of athletic shoes, Thursday reported a rise in quarterly profit of nearly 60 percent as strong European and U.S. demand and favorable currency movements pushed sales to almost $3 billion.
The Beaverton, Oregon, company posted a net profit of $200 million, or 74 cents per share in its fiscal third quarter ended Feb. 29, compared with a profit of $125 million, or 47 cents per share, a year earlier.
The results came in at the top end of the range predicted by Nike when it raised its outlook 10 days ago.
Analysts had expected, on average, for Nike to post third quarter earnings per share of 73 cents on $2.9 billion in sales, according to estimates compiled by Reuters Research, a unit of Reuters Group Plc.
Revenue rose 21 percent to $2.9 billion from 2.4 billion.
The results reflect Nike's progress in resolving its long-running dispute with its main distributor, Foot Locker Inc., over pricing and promotion.
The dispute, which began in 2002, had kept high-end Nike shoes off shelves of the United States' biggest sneaker chain, leading Nike to lose sales and market share to arch-rival Reebok International Ltd.
Shares in Nike were unchanged from their New York Stock Exchange close, where they ended trade 67 cents, or 0.88 percent, higher at $76.82.
Reut16:40 03-18-04
The Beaverton, Oregon, company posted a net profit of $200 million, or 74 cents per share in its fiscal third quarter ended Feb. 29, compared with a profit of $125 million, or 47 cents per share, a year earlier.
The results came in at the top end of the range predicted by Nike when it raised its outlook 10 days ago.
Analysts had expected, on average, for Nike to post third quarter earnings per share of 73 cents on $2.9 billion in sales, according to estimates compiled by Reuters Research, a unit of Reuters Group Plc.
Revenue rose 21 percent to $2.9 billion from 2.4 billion.
The results reflect Nike's progress in resolving its long-running dispute with its main distributor, Foot Locker Inc., over pricing and promotion.
The dispute, which began in 2002, had kept high-end Nike shoes off shelves of the United States' biggest sneaker chain, leading Nike to lose sales and market share to arch-rival Reebok International Ltd.
Shares in Nike were unchanged from their New York Stock Exchange close, where they ended trade 67 cents, or 0.88 percent, higher at $76.82.
Reut16:40 03-18-04