Nike beats by $0.04, beats on revs; futures orders +14% ex-FX, above estimates
* Reports Q3 (Feb) earnings of $0.76 per share, $0.04 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.72; revenues rose 12.7% year/year to $6.97 bln vs the $6.81 bln consensus.
* Revenues for the NIKE Brand were $6.6 billion, up 14 percent on a currency neutral basis powered by growth in every geography and key category.
* Revenues for Converse were $420 million, up 16 percent on a currency neutral basis, mainly driven by strong performance in our largest direct distribution markets: the United States, China and the United Kingdom.
* Gross margin expanded 30 basis points to 44.5 percent. Gross margin benefitted from higher average prices and continued growth in the higher margin Direct to Consumer business, partially offset by higher product input costs, unfavorable foreign exchange rates, and higher discounts, reflecting actions to clear excess inventory in select markets.
* Worldwide futures orders for NIKE Brand athletic footwear and apparel scheduled for delivery from March 2014 through July 2014 totaled $10.9 bln, 14% higher (ex-FX) YoY vs. expectations for ~12.5% growth.
* Despite the negative impact of changes in FX, earnings per share for the quarter were up 4 percent due to higher revenues driven by strong demand for NIKE, Inc. brands, gross margin expansion, a lower tax rate and slightly lower average share count, partially offset by the impact of higher SG&A investments in NIKE, Inc. brands and business capabilities.
* During Q3, NIKE repurchased a total of 10.4 million shares for ~$788 million as part of the four-year, $8 billion program approved by the Board of Directors in Sept 2012. As of the end of the third quarter, a total of 39.6 million shares had been repurchased under this program at a cost of ~$2.5 billion, an average cost of $63.21 per share.