“In the third quarter, Nike delivered robust and balanced growth across our expansive, powerful portfolio”, stated Mark Parker, President and CEO, adding: “We grow by serving the athlete personally every day and, as we unveiled last week, through breakthrough innovation that gives us a foundation for growth for years to come. Combined with our strategic investments, world-class execution and financial discipline, Nike consistently delivers value to our shareholders.”

Third quarter revenues rose by 8% totaling 8 billion US dollars (up by 14% on a currency neutral basis).

Revenue for the Nike brand reached 7.6 billion US dollars (up by 15% on a currency neutral basis) driven by growth in every geography and nearly all key categories.

Revenues for the Converse brand totaled 489 million US dollars, down by 5% on a currency neutral basis.

Gross margin was 45.9%, flat compared to prior year. Although there was a benefit from a higher average selling prices and continued growth in the higher margin Direct to Consumer (DTC) business, this was offset by unfavorable changes in foreign currency exchange rates, higher warehousing costs, and the impact of clearing excess inventory in North America.

For the quarter, the company estimates the year-over-year change in foreign currency related gains and losses included in other income, net, combined with the impact of changes in currency exchange rates on the translation of foreign currency-denominated profits, decreased pretax income by approximately 97 million US dollars.

Net income increased by 20% to reach 950 million US dollars, driven by strong revenue growth and a lower effective tax rate.