Nike's first-quarter earnings of $200M, or $.70 a
share, is a 25% increase over the year-ago period, but its
reported $2.5B in revenue marked no growth from a year ago,
according to Deborah Adamson of CBS MarketWatch. In the
year-ago quarter, Nike reported net income of $164M, or $.56
a share, on sales of $2.5B. Nike Chair Phil Knight said
that "sharply improved" gross margins in Europe and Asia as
well as "careful management of costs" helped the company's
earnings finish $.04 ahead of Wall Street's estimate. U.S.
footwear sales grew 3% to $941M, apparel "weakened" by 11%
to $332M, and domestic sales of sports bras "dropped" 2% to
$1.3B. Also, global footwear grew 4% while worldwide
apparel revenue was down 6% (CBS MarketWatch, 9/17).
Knight: "U.S. apparel is by no means fixed, but we did see
signs that the revenue decrease is mitigating." In a
conference call after the earnings were released, Nike
President Tom Clarke added, "The reality is [apparel sales]
is a big athletic industrywide issue. Branded athletic
apparel is losing share" (REUTERS, 9/17). The AP's William
McCall writes that while analysts said they were "concerned
about the eighth straight quarter of weak clothing sales" in
the U.S., they were "impressed by the strength of the
recovery in Asia" (AP, 9/17). CNBC's Patrick Bolland said,
"What's important here is they had cost cutting. The
margins were higher across Europe and across Asia." It
"will be a stock to watch." Nike was up 9/16 yesterday, to
close at 54 3/4 ("Business Center," CNBC, 9/16).
