American sports brand Nike did not manage to meet expectations in its past quarter: both turnover and number of orders were below analysts’ expectations.
Higher costs and lower margins
The quarterly turnover grew 6 % to 8.24 billion dollars (7.4 billion euro), although analysts had expected 8.28 billion dollars (7.5 billion euro). Net profit dropped from 865 million dollars (780 million euro) to 846 million dollars (760 million euro), which Nike blamed on higher costs and a higher tax rate, both leading to smaller margins. The strong dollar and competition from Adidas and Under Armour also pushed profits down.
The one thing investors look to the most, Nike’s number of orders, grew 11 %, but that was still below analysts’ expectations at + 13 %. Nike’s largest market, North America, managed a 6 % growth, while analysts expected 9 %.
For its full fiscal year, turnover grew 6 % to 32.4 billion dollars (29.3 billion euro), with a company goal to reach 50 billion dollars in 2020.
