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Nike meets lowered mark
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March 20, 2001: 4:57 p.m. ET
Athletic shoe maker earns 35 cents a share, reassures on 4Q target
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Athletic shoe and apparel maker Nike Inc. met lowered forecasts for the third quarter Tuesday, but assured investors it is still set to meet fourth-quarter targets.
Nike earned $97 million, or 35 cents a diluted share, in the period ended Feb. 28. That was in line with analysts' forecasts. But earnings tracker First Call lowered its forecast after the company issued its second warning for the period on Feb. 26.
 At that time the company said it would earn between 34 cents and 38 cents a share. Before that warning, analysts' forecasts called for EPS of 53 cents, just above the $145 million, or 52 cents a share, it earned a year earlier. The company also warned when it issued second-quarter results, at a time when analysts were looking for third-quarter EPS to improve to 58 cents.
The company issued no similar warning on future earnings Tuesday, saying it believes it should earn 60 cents to 65 cents a share in the fiscal fourth quarter, which ends in May. Analysts are forecasting earnings of only 58 cents in the period. The company earned 46 cents a share in the fourth quarter a year ago.
"I believe that continued strong consumer acceptance of our products at retail and the strengthening of our organization will enable us to manage through the challenges in our U.S. footwear business and lay the foundation for another round of growth," said a statement from Phil Knight, the company's chairman.
The company said it has $3.8 billion in future orders for athletic footwear and apparel scheduled for delivery between March and July 2001, matching orders in the year-ago fourth quarter. And the company said one-third of sales have traditionally come from business not included in future orders.
In the third quarter the company saw sales of $2.2 billion, flat compared with the year-earlier levels.
Shares of Nike (NKE: Research, Estimates) gained 39 cents to $38.40 in after-hours trading immediately after the earnings report. Its shares closed up $1.71 in regular-hours trading Tuesday ahead of the report. 
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