The following is reprinted with permission from The Associated Press. © Copyright 1996 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
Nike Reports Record Earnings, 2-For-1 Stock Split
By BOB BAUM Associated Press Writer
Sept. 16, 1996BEAVERTON, Ore. (AP) - Nike Inc. said Monday its earnings rose 24 percent in the latest quarter, and that it has orders on hand worth 66 percent more than what it had a year ago.
The earnings results matched analysts' expectations, but the order figure was strong and Nike stock moved higher.
"The news of the day is not the history, it's the future," said Shelly Hale Young, senior analyst for Hambricht & Quist, a San Francisco investment bank. "... there was no one who believed that the company could exceed last quarter's futures, which were up 55 percent."
In trading on the New York Stock Exchange, Nike shares were up $1.37 1/2 a share at 121.62 1/2.
The nation's leading shoe and athletic apparel marketer also announced its second 2-for-1 stock split in the past year.
Earnings for the first fiscal quarter ended Aug. 31 totaled $226.1 million, or $1.53 per share, up from $182.1 million, or $1.25 per share, a year ago.
Revenue for the quarter was $2.28 billion, up 34 percent from $1.70 billion last year.
Athletic footwear and apparel revenues rose 39 percent to $1.35 billion in the United States, and 35 percent to $780.9 million internationally.
Future orders for delivery between September 1996 and January 1997 totaled a record $3.5 billion, up 66 percent from the first fiscal quarter of last year.
Nike chairman Phil Knight called it "the best quarter in our history." He said the company's brand strength, "which many thought was nearing its peak last year, continues to grow unabated in fiscal 1997."
The earnings report came as the company convened its annual shareholders' meeting.
Nike's U.S. operations were strong. Men's basketball footwear sales grew 48 percent in the first quarter and men's running shoe revenues rose more than 50 percent. In U.S. women's footwear, fitness shoe revenue rose 45 percent and sports shoe revenue was up 68 percent.
The revenue from apparel sold in the United States climbed 93 percent from a year ago.
Under the 2-for-1 stock split, shareholders of record at the close of business on Oct. 11 will get an extra share on Oct. 23.
Nike has been criticized for the conditions at its factories in Southeast Asia, which have been called sweatshops where workers are underpaid and mistreated.
During the shareholder meeting Monday, Nike announced that within the next year it would invite an independent group to review conditions at the factories and make its findings public.
Nike in the News