Nike Inc. has reported a 25% decrease in net profit for the second financial quarter and an 8% drop in revenue; however, both figures surpassed market expectations. This was reported by Interfax-Kazakhstan.
According to Nike's press release, the net profit for the quarter ending November 30 amounted to $1.16 billion, or $0.78 per share, compared to $1.58 billion, or $1.03 per share, for the same period last year.
The company's quarterly revenue decreased to $12.4 billion from $13.4 billion a year earlier.
Experts surveyed by FactSet had, on average, forecasted Nike's net profit at $0.63 per share with revenue at $12.11 billion.
The gross margin fell by 1 percentage point to 43.6% due to aggressive sales, while the inventory levels remained nearly unchanged compared to last year.
Nike's revenue in North America declined by 8%, totaling $5.18 billion. In the Europe, Middle East, and Africa region, the figure dropped by 7% to $3.3 billion, in China (including Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan) it fell by 8% to $1.71 billion, and in the Asia-Pacific region and Latin America, it decreased by 3% to $1.74 billion.
For the second financial quarter, Nike returned a total of $1.6 billion to shareholders, including $557 million in dividends and approximately $1.1 billion through share buybacks.
During a conference call with investors, the company's Chief Financial Officer Matthew Friend stated that the company anticipates a revenue decline of just over 10% in the third financial quarter, as well as a decrease in gross margin compared to the previous year.