Nike exceeds expectations with solid growth

American sports brand Nike had a strong second quarter, in which its sales and profits rose sharply. The brand has improved in all regions, with China as its main driver of growth.

Overall growth

Turnover for the company as a whole increased by 10.1 % in the second quarter of the split financial year, to 10.3 billion dollars (9 billion euros). Analysts had expected a turnover of 10.09 billion dollars, beurs.nl reports. The sports brand grew in all regions, but Greater China (in which Nike also includes Taiwan) took the lead with a 19.6 % increase in sales. The eponymous brand saw its revenues increase by 10 % to 9.8 billion dollars. Converse, which has been losing out a bit of late, had a strong quarter and grew by 12.9 %.

The sports group’s net profit rose by no less than 31.6 % to 1.1 billion dollars (1 billion euros). This is considerably higher than the 924 million dollars suggested by analysts. Nike has attributed the strong profit increase to higher selling prices, among other things.