Business news :NIKE, Inc. reports fiscal 2013 third quarter results

NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) reported financial results for its fiscal 2013 third quarter ended February 28, 2013.

• Revenues from continuing operations up 9 percent to $6.2 billion, up 10 percent excluding currency changes
• Diluted earnings per share from continuing operations up 20 percent to $0.73
• Worldwide futures orders up 6 percent, 7 percent growth excluding currency changes
• Inventories up 4 percent

BEAVERTON, Ore., March 21, 2013 – NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) today reported financial results for its fiscal 2013 third quarter ended February 28, 2013. For continuing operations, strong demand for NIKE, Inc. brands propelled double-digit revenue growth on a currency neutral basis, and diluted earnings per share grew faster than revenue due to gross margin expansion, a lower tax rate and a lower average share count.

"Our team delivered strong results in Q3. We did it with a relentless flow of innovation into our key categories," said Mark Parker, President and CEO of NIKE, Inc. "Given the diversity of our portfolio, we're able to capture big opportunities that drive sustainable, profitable growth. At the same time we continue to invest in new ways to enhance athletic performance, build strong consumer communities, and improve how we design and manufacture our products. That’s how we increase our potential and drive shareholder value."*

Third Quarter Continuing Operations Income Statement Review

• Revenues for NIKE, Inc. increased 9 percent to $6.2 billion, up 10 percent on a currency-neutral basis. Excluding the impact of changes in foreign currency, NIKE Brand revenues rose 10 percent, with growth in all geographies except Greater China and Japan and in all key categories except Sportswear and Action Sports. Revenues for Other Businesses increased 9 percent as growth at Converse and NIKE Golf more than offset lower revenues at Hurley.
• Gross margin increased 30 basis points to 44.2 percent. Gross margin benefitted from the combination of pricing actions and easing material costs, which more than offset higher labor costs. This benefit was partially offset by higher discounts, particularly in Greater China as the Company continues work to manage marketplace inventory. Additionally gross margin was impacted by unfavorable changes in foreign exchange rates and a shift in the mix of the Company’s revenues to lower margin geographies.
• Selling and administrative expense grew at the same rate as revenue, up 9 percent to $1.9 billion. Demand creation expense was $619 million, up 5 percent from the prior year driven by sports marketing expense, and marketing support for key product initiatives and brand events. Operating overhead expense increased 11 percent to $1.2 billion due to additional investments made in the wholesale business to support growth initiatives, and higher Direct to Consumer costs as a result of higher volume-driven expenses in existing NIKE-owned stores and the cost of new stores opened in the last year.
• Other expense, net was $17 million, comprised primarily of foreign exchange losses. For the quarter, the Company estimates the year-over-year change in currency related gains and losses included in other expense, net, combined with the impact of changes in currency exchange rates on the translation of foreign currency-denominated profits, decreased pretax income by approximately $19 million.
• The effective tax rate was 22.8 percent, compared to 27.7 percent for the same period last year. The decrease was largely due to the benefit from the U.S. legislative reinstatement of the research and development tax credit, as well as a lower effective tax rate on foreign operations due to the geographical mix of earnings.
• Net income from continuing operations increased 16 percent to $662 million while diluted earnings per share increased 20 percent to $0.73, reflecting a 2 percent decline in the weighted average diluted common shares outstanding.

February 28, 2013 Balance Sheet Review for Continuing Operations

• Inventories for NIKE, Inc. were $3.3 billion, up 4 percent from February 29, 2012. NIKE Brand inventories increased 4 percent. NIKE Brand wholesale unit inventories increased 7 percent to support future demand, while the impact of changes in foreign currency exchange rates and changes in product cost drove a 3 percentage point decline in NIKE Brand inventory growth.
• Cash and short-term investments were $4.0 billion; $845 million higher than last year mainly as a result of higher net income, proceeds from the sale of the Umbro and Cole Haan businesses and continued focus on working capital management.

Share Repurchases
During the third quarter, NIKE, Inc. repurchased a total of 4.9 million shares for approximately $253 million as part of the four-year, $8 billion program approved by the Board of Directors in September 2012. As of the end of the third quarter, a total of 11.1 million shares were repurchased under this program at a cost of approximately $548 million.

Futures Orders
As of the end of the quarter, worldwide futures orders for NIKE Brand athletic footwear and apparel, scheduled for delivery from March through July 2013 totaled $9.9 billion, 6 percent higher than orders reported for the same period last year. Excluding currency changes, reported orders would have increased 7 percent.*

Discontinued Operations
The Company continually evaluates its existing portfolio of businesses to ensure resources are invested in those businesses that are accretive to the NIKE Brand, and represent the largest growth potential and highest returns. On May 31, 2012, the Company announced its intention to divest of the Umbro and Cole Haan businesses, allowing the Company to focus resources on driving growth in the NIKE, Jordan, Converse and Hurley brands.
As previously announced, the Company completed the sale of certain assets of the Umbro brand during the second quarter ended November 30, 2012 and recorded a loss on the sale of these assets of $107 million, net of tax, that was included in the net loss from discontinued operations for the second fiscal quarter of 2013.
On February 1, 2013, the Company completed the sale of Cole Haan to Apax Partners for an agreed upon purchase price of $570 million and received at closing $561 million, net of $9 million of purchase price adjustments. For the third quarter ended February 28, 2013, the Company recorded a gain on sale of $231 million, net of tax, representing the sales price less the asset value of Cole Haan and other miscellaneous charges. For the third quarter of 2013, the Company’s net income from discontinued operations was $204 million, which includes the gain recorded for the sale of Cole Haan, net of tax, less net operating losses and divesture transaction costs for Cole Haan and Umbro during the period.
Under the Cole Haan sale agreement, the Company will provide certain transition services to Cole Haan and will license NIKE proprietary technologies for a transition period. The continuing cash flows related to these items are not expected to be significant to Cole Haan and the Company will have no significant continuing involvement with Cole Haan beyond the transition services.

Conference Call
NIKE management will host a conference call beginning at approximately 2:00 p.m. PT on March 21, 2013, to review third quarter results. The conference call will be broadcast live over the Internet and can be accessed at http://investors.nikeinc.com. For those unable to listen to the live broadcast, an archived version will be available at the same location through 9:00 p.m. PT, March 28, 2013.

About NIKE, Inc.
NIKE, Inc., based near Beaverton, Oregon, is the world's leading designer, marketer and distributor of authentic athletic footwear, apparel, equipment and accessories for a wide variety of sports and fitness activities. Wholly-owned NIKE, Inc. subsidiaries include Converse Inc., which designs, markets and distributes athletic lifestyle footwear, apparel and accessories and Hurley International LLC, which designs, markets and distributes surf and youth lifestyle footwear, apparel and accessories. For more information, NIKE’s earnings releases and other financial information are available on the Internet at http://investors.nikeinc.com and individuals can follow @Nike.

*The marked paragraphs contain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. These risks and uncertainties are detailed from time to time in reports filed by Nike with the S.E.C., including Forms 8-K, 10-Q, and 10-K. Some forward-looking statements in this release concern changes in futures orders that are not necessarily indicative of changes in total revenues for subsequent periods due to the mix of futures and “at once” orders, exchange rate fluctuations, order cancellations, discounts and returns, which may vary significantly from quarter to quarter, and because a significant portion of the business does not report futures orders.

Investor Contact: Kelley Hall, (503) 532-3793
Media Contact: Kellie Leonard, (503) 671-6171