Apparel giant Nike (NKE) could be setting up for a big day after reporting strong third quarter numbers.
Net income for Q3, up 55 percent on strong sales numbers in North America, was $866 million, $0.73 cents per share, on sales of $6.19 billion, compared to the prior year period’s $560 million, or $0.61 cents per share on sales of $6.2 billion against analyst estimates of $0.67 cents per share.
Global orders for March to July of this year were up 6 percent on the prior year period, while in North America, orders were up 11 percent. The strong domestic performance, with sales up 18 percent to $2.55 billion, is seen as the result of the company shedding brands that were lagging such as Umbro.
China, where the company is still having some difficulty with sales down 9 percent to $635 million, future orders were up 4 percent, while in Europe orders were down 5 percent, a figure being attributed in part to the economic instability currently roiling the continent.
Nike continues to make the bulk of its revenue, 40 percent, from North America, and could potentially see an uptick in sales of its yoga-wear if it can manage to capitalize on Lululemon’s (LULU) product quality issues that have forced that company to recall its incredibly popular line of yoga pants this week.
The athletic apparel producer was down 2.24 percent to $53.60 per share in regular trading prior to the news, but late trading saw shares spike 8.21 percent to $58.
