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CNNfn after the bell
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March 18, 1999: 7:41 p.m. ET
Nike swooshes past estimates, Adobe trounces Wall Street, StarMedia files IPO
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Better-than-expected earnings results dominated Thursday's round of after-hours news, as a graphics software company and a major footwear and athletic apparel company beat Wall Street expectations by wide margins.
Leading Thursday's round of earnings reports was Nike Inc. The Beaverton, Ore.-based company posted third-quarter net income of $124.2 million, or 44 cents a diluted share, compared to $73.1 million, or 25 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Third quarter revenues were $2.18 billion, down 2 percent from $2.22 billion last year.
Nike's earnings beat Wall Street estimates by 6 cents a share.
Philip H. Knight, Nike (NKE) chairman and chief executive officer, said, "Despite continued softness in the U.S. athletic footwear and apparel retail market, we are beginning to see signs of increased consumer demand for our footwear. While we are encouraged by these early indicators, we remain cautious on our prospects for near-term growth.
Nike said worldwide futures orders for athletic footwear and apparel, scheduled for delivery between March and July, totaled $3.8 billion, down 4 percent from a year-ago. Futures orders were down 6 percent for the United States, up 8 percent for Europe, and down 16 percent for Asia Pacific.
Adobe beats the Street
Computer graphics software maker Adobe Systems Inc. on Thursday also posted stronger-than-expected first-quarter profit and said it would also beat second-quarter forecasts.
The company said its first-quarter earnings rose to $38.3 million, or 60 cents a share, from $26.7 million, or 38 cents, in the year-ago quarter. Adobe (ADBE) beat analysts' forecasts of 52 cents a share, as revenues rose to $226.9 million from $197.8 million a year earlier.
In other news, Cox Communications, Inc. (COX) announced a two-for-one stock split which could be effected after the company's May 13, annual meeting of stockholders.
And finally, StarMedia Network, the dominant online network in Latin America, has filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offering of up to $75 million in common stock. Goldman Sachs, BancBoston Robertson Stephens, J.P. Morgan, and Salomon Smith Barney will manage the underwriting.
-- from staff and wire reports
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