Nike posts strong Asian growth

In the third quarter of its broken fiscal year, American sports brand Nike has performed very well in Asia and posted an overall 5 % growth, even though it failed to live up to analysts’ expectations.

Strong profit increase

Nike’s third quarter turnover reached 8.4 billion dollars (7.8 billion euro), but despite a 5 % growth, it fell short of analysts’ expectations. The company’s profit grew 20 % to 1.1 billion dollars (slightly above 1 billion euro). Ignoring exchange rate fluctuations, the Nike brand’s turnover grew 7 % to 7.9 billion dollars (7.3 billion euro) and Converse’s turnover grew another 3 % to 498 million dollars (460 million euro). “The power of Nike’s diverse, global portfolio delivered another solid quarter of growth and profitability”, CEO Mark Parker said.

Nike achieved its largest growth in Japan, with a 15 % surge,  but that dropped down to 8 % on a like-for-like basis. Chinese turnover grew 9 % and the “emerging markets” rank third, with an 8 % turnover increase. Growth in North America and Europe was smaller, at 3 % and 4 % respectively as currency fluctuations pushed growth down from the 10 % it would be at constant exchange rates. There was only a 1 % turnover growth for Central and Eastern Europe.

Nike’s sales are spread across three divisions: Footwear (+ 5 %) and Apparel (+ 7%) performed admirably, but Equipment (- 9 %) suffered badly.