Nike'ssaid Thursday its fiscal first-quarter net income fell 12 percent as higher sales of its clothing and footwear brands were offset by increased costs and ad spending.
Getty Images
The athletic-gear maker's results beat expectations but its shares fell more than 2 percent in after-hours trading as investors worried about a slowing of future orders, which indicate future demand. (Click here to get the latest quotes for Nike.)
Nike, like other consumer products makers, is facing high costs for materials and labor, as well as an uncertain economy in Europe and a slowdown in China. The Beaverton, Ore.-based company has raised prices and cut costs in response.
The world's largest athletic shoe and clothing company says net income for the three months ended Aug. 31 fell to $567 million, or $1.23 per share. That compares with net income of $645 million, or $1.36 per share, last year.
Revenue rose 10 percent to $6.67 billion from $6.08 billion last year.
Analysts expected the company to earn $1.12 per share on revenue of $6.43 billion, according to Thomson Reuters.
Revenue jumped 23 percent in North America, Nike's largest market, to $2.7 billion. In Europe, revenue fell 5 percent to $1.17 billion. In China, revenue rose 8 percent to $572 million.
Selling and administrative expenses rose 18 percent as the company spent heavily on marketing for the Olympics and the European Football Championships.
Futures orders — those scheduled for delivery between September 2012 and January 2013 —rose 6 percent. That compares with a 16 percent increase in the same quarter last year. Greater China was a weak spot, with orders down 5 percent. A year ago, Greater China futures orders surged 27 percent.