The net profit of the world's largest sporting goods manufacturer – Nike Inc (NYSE: NKE) in the first quarter of fiscal year 2017, ended August 31, rose 5.9% - to $ 1.249 billion, or $ 0.73 per share, compared with $ 1.179 billion, or $ 0.67 per share, for the same period a year earlier, according to a press release from Nike.
The consensus forecast of experts for this indicator was $ 0.56 per share, writes The Wall Street Journal.
Nike's revenue increased by 8% in the last quarter - to $ 9.06 billion, revenues in North America increased by 6.1% - to $ 4.03 billion.
The volume of orders received by Nike with delivery during the period from September 2016 to January 2017 amounted to $ 12.3 billion, which is 5% higher than in the same period of the previous financial year. The pace of orders slowed down in comparison with the 9% growth a year earlier.
In North America, which accounts for a significant part of Nike’s revenue, the orders rose only 1%, while the previous year the increase was 14%.
The Chief Financial Officer of Nike, Andy Campion, said that the company will no longer publish an indicator of future orders in conjunction with quarterly reporting. This figure will continue to be discussed during the conference call with analysts, he said.
"Tracking of future orders is still a very important aspect of our operating model, but in recent years the correlation between the indicator of future orders and actual sales data declined" because Nike actively sells its products directly to consumers, said Campion.
Last fall, the company said it expects to double the annual amount of direct sales of products to customers in 2020 - up to $ 16 billion.
According Campion, in North America, the pace of the company's sales growth will be higher than that suggested by future sales, as Nike expects to strengthen direct sales.