|
Nike no longer sprinting
|
 |
September 18, 1997: 8:58 p.m. ET
Shoe giant reports that future orders climbed a modest 10 percent
|
NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Sports merchandise behemoth Nike Inc. said Tuesday that a slowdown in its rapid growth has produced quarterly earnings with less oomph as well.
Nike earned $253.1 million, or 85 cents per share, on revenues of $2.77 billion in the first quarter. For the period a year ago, Nike's net income was $226.1 million, or 76 cents per share, on revenues of $2.28 billion.
Nike said advance orders for footwear to be delivered between September and January rose a modest 10 percent from the year-ago period. As a result, revenue growth will fall short of the company's 15 percent target for the year. In the prior two years, revenues grew 42 percent and 36 percent, respectively.
Philip H. Knight, Nike's chairman and chief executive, said that despite "the difficult comparisons we are facing for the balance of fiscal 1998, particularly in the U.S. footwear business … our enthusiasm for the long-term growth of our business is unabated."
That growth will hinge on expanding the Nike brand outside the United states, he said.
"First-quarter revenues in our markets outside the U.S. topped $1 billion for the first time, a firm indication that this key component of our growth is delivering on its long-term promise," Knight said.
- Indeed, outside the U.S., business looked much more robust, with revenues growing 34 percent in Europe, 68 percent in Asia and 60 percent in the Americas.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Nike Inc.
|
Note: Pages will open in a new browser window
External sites are not endorsed by CNNmoney
|
|
|
|
 |
|
