The profits of the well known manufacturer of shoes and clothes - Nike Inc (NYSE: NKE) exceeded market expectations eighth consecutive quarter due to increased sales of high-yield models of shoes and clothing at higher prices.
The world's largest shoe manufacturer said on Thursday that net profit in the fourth quarter of the fiscal year rose 24 %, getting to the figure of $ 865 million, or in other words, 98 cents per share. The revenue rose 4.8 %, getting to $ 7.78 billion.
The analysts that were polled by Reuters, on average expected a profit of 83 cents per share on revenue of $ 7.69 billion, which is lower than the recently claimed figures.
Revenue in North America, which is the largest market for Nike, increased by 13 %, mainly due to the increase of sales of shoes and clothing – the main product types manufactured by Nike. The sales of shoes - the main source of revenue, rose 8.6 %.
Nike raised its forecast for sales in the current fiscal year, excluding currency fluctuations: now it is waiting for its growth in double figures at the bottom of their range.
The manufacturer of sporting goods also reported about faster growth of "future orders", which is also a surprise for the market.
At the end of the fourth quarter, the volume of orders, excluding currency fluctuations during the period from June to November, the indicator of demand which the company calls it "future orders", increased by 13 %. Analysts, according to Consensus Metrix data, forecasted a slowdown to 10.4 % compared with 11.0 % at the end of the third quarter.
Shares of the company, which published its financial report after the close of the stock exchanges, rose on extended trading by 3.3 %.