Nike Inc beat quarterly profit expectations as deep cost cuts and lower taxes more than offset lower revenue in Key markets like the United States and China, sending its shares up 4.4%. The world’s top athletic shoe and apparel maker stressed it was gaining market share and stood to benefit when the global economy improved. But executives warned that retailers and consumers remained wary going into the pivotal holiday season, which accounts for the bulk of most retailers’ yearly sales. “People are still going to be relatively cautious going through that holiday period,” Nike Brand President Charlie Denson told analysts on a conference call, adding that Nike saw “sequential improvement” in retail orders through spring. Nike’s fiscal first-quarter net profit was US$513.0, or $1.04/shr, compared with US$510.5M, or $1.03/shr, a year earlier. Analysts, on average, had expected 97 cents per share, according to Reuters Estimates. Revenue fell 12% to US$4.8B from US$5.4B a year earlier, when orders in advance of the Beijing Olympics and the European soccer championships boosted sales.
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