Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Nike Delivers Outstanding 3Q Results - Growth In Innovative Products, Diversified Portfolio, Global Sales and Futures Orders

Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) delivered solid third quarter results, beating the high-end analyst expectations on both earnings and revenue. Sales revenue grew 16 percent to $4.5 billion, compared to $3.9 billion for the same period last year; earnings increased 35 percent to 92 cents per share versus 68 cents last year; net income rose 32 percent to $463.8 million compared to $350.8 million last year. Nike shares were up more than 4 percent in after hours.

Nike is one of the Top 20 Innovators of The Innovation Index.
Innovation Index Group, Inc. rates Nike a BUY, and has a Q4, 2008 stock price target of $80.

Invest in The Innovation Index
- Innovation Index Fund tracks The Innovation Index.

In the press release, Mark Parker, NIKE, Inc. President and Chief Executive Officer stated: "Our strong third quarter results, driven by sales gains across our diversified portfolio of categories, geographies, and brands, are a clear indication that our strategy is working and that we're on track to achieve our financial goals for this fiscal year and beyond."

Parker continued, "Over the past twelve months we've taken a number of important strategic steps to strengthen the performance and potential of our portfolio of products and brands, steps we believe create stronger platforms for growth and allow us to connect even deeper with consumers. More than ever, the consumer is at the epicenter of everything we do, and delivering the most innovative products and the most exciting consumer experiences is the key to our future growth."

Nike -> Most Innovative Products + Brands -> Most Exciting Consumer Experiences -> Tremendous Future Growth

Nike benefited from the exchange rate in the 3rd quarter that increased the revenue growth by 6 percent.

Future Outlook

The leading indicator on how well Nike will do in the 4th quarter is Futures Orders. Nike is well poised to repeat the revenue and earnings growth based on the future visibility:

The Company reported worldwide futures orders for athletic footwear and apparel, scheduled for delivery from March 2008 through July 2008, totaling $6.9 billion, 11 percent higher than such orders reported for the same period last year.

Global Growth

Nike reported 20 percent or higher sales growth in Asia-Pacific, Europe and the Americas region (excluding U.S.) from last year. Global orders of clothing and footwear through July increased 11 percent. China sales were up more than 50 percent as consumers bought shoes and clothing before this summer's Olympic Games. Nike has already reached $1 billion in sales in China, a year ahead of its original target, Parker said in the earnings release. U.S. revenues were up 5 percent compared to last year. The global consumer is buying more diversified Nike products - shoes, apparel, equipment - thereby creating a revenue surge.

Parker concluded, "Our focus on prime growth opportunities extends throughout our portfolio of brands. We are confident that our divestiture decisions are the right ones for Bauer Hockey, Starter, and Nike. Our most recent acquisition, Umbro, is a brand that has tremendous heritage and respect in global football. This acquisition represents an opportunity to create value for shareholders and consumers by applying our product, brand-building and operational capabilities to a business with enormous growth potential around the world." - Innovation through acquisition. Nike is not shy to grow its global brand by acquiring a strong brand and channeling it through Nike's innovative process.

Recent Innovations

Earlier in March, Nike extended its partnership with Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), another Top 20 Innovator, to the gym, by announcing Nike + iPod integration with gym equipments. Nike is poised to do well in this undertaking.

Nike also announced the Nike SPARQ Training, the company's "most comprehensive performance training launch ever, combining a relationship with SPARQ, high performance products, online experiences at nike.com, a new association with Velocity Sports Performance Centers, and a multi-media campaign called “My Better.”" The centerpiece of Nike’s efforts is SPARQ which stands for Speed, Power, Agility, Reaction and Quickness

These key innovations across a diversified portfolio of products, global distribution, and global growth will likely propel Nike's revenue and earnings growth through 2010.

Nike is one of the Top 20 Innovators of The Innovation Index. Innovation Index Group, Inc. rates Nike a BUY, and has a Q4, 2008 stock price target of $80.

Related Articles:

Nike (NYSE: NKE) and Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) working out at a Gym near you
Creativity And Innovation in Business Definitive Guide

About Innovation Index Group:

Innovation Index Group, Inc. is a new investment management company focused on systematically identifying, tracking and investing in the most innovative publicly traded companies in North America – collectively called the Innovation Index. We have developed the Innovation Index Fund, LLC as our first vehicle to invest in the Innovation Index. Over the past six years, the Innovation Index has generated a gross average annual return of 40%.*

Innovation Index Group, Inc. and Innovation Index Fund LLC are registered California Corporations, and member of the Irvine Chamber of Commerce in Orange County. Further, Innovation Index Fund LLC is a private placement investment partnership organized under the California state regulations.

The Innovation Index Reports:

Invest in The Innovation Index - Innovation Index Fund tracks The Innovation Index
The Innovation Index closes 2007 at 66% - 2007 Annual Report on the Innovation Index
Top 50 Innovative Companies in the world
- 2007 Report on Top 50 Innovative Companies
Annual Report - Chapter One - Total Innovation Activity - 2006 Annual Report One
Annual Report - Chapter Two - The Top Innovator - 2006 Annual Report Two
Annual Report - Chapter Three - The Innovation Insights - 2006 Annual Report Insights
Innovation and Stock Performance Correlation - The Innovation Index and Stock Performance

About The Innovation Index

The Innovation Index introduced in December 2006 is a weighted stock price index of the top 20 Innovators in North America.

The Innovation Index returned 66% in 2007, and returned 174% over the previous five years (2002-2006). This assumes equal investment in each stock of The Innovation Index as of December 31, 2001. An average of $100 invested in The Innovation Index on December 31, 2001 returned $454 as of December 31, 2007. By comparison, $100 invested in S & P 500 returned 28% or $129, $100 invested in NASDAQ returned 34% or $136, and $100 invested in the Dow Jones Index returned 30% or $131 through December 31, 2007. The Innovation Index beats the S & P 500, NASDAQ and Dow Jones Index by more than seven times over the past six years.*

Alphabetical list of the Top 20 Innovators of The Innovation Index for 2008 and their stock ticker symbols:

3M Company - (NYSE: MMM)
Amazon.com, Inc. - (NASDAQ: AMZN)
America Movil - (NYSE: AMX)
Apple Inc. - (NASDAQ: AAPL)
AT&T Inc. - (NYSE: T)
Best Buy Co., Inc. - (NYSE: BBY)
Cisco Systems, Inc. - (NASDAQ: CSCO)
Costco Wholesale Corporation - (NASDAQ: COST)
eBay Inc. - (NASDAQ: EBAY)
General Electric Co. - (NYSE: GE)
Google Inc. - (NASDAQ: GOOG)
Hewlett-Packard Co. - (NYSE: HPQ)
Intel Corporation - (NYSE: INTC)
International Business Machines Corp. - (NYSE: IBM)
Merck & Co., Inc. - (NYSE: MRK)
McDonald's Corporation (NYSE: MCD)
Microsoft Corporation - (NASDAQ: MSFT)
NIKE, Inc. - (NYSE: NKE)
Research In Motion Limited - (NASDAQ: RIMM)
The Proctor & Gamble Company - (NYSE: PG)

The Innovation Index will analyze the positions and standings of the Top 20 Innovators at the end of each year. For 2008, there will be no further changes in The Innovation Index.

Disclaimer: The Innovation Index Group, Inc. invests in the stocks comprising The Innovation Index.
*Past Performance Does Not Guarantee Future Results

No comments:

Post a Comment