Nike plays down foot and mouth disease fears
A report carried in the International Herald & Tribune has said that the international footwear trade’s fears over livestock disease have so far yet to be realised.
Citing the example of athletic footwear giant, Nike Inc, the report said that although import controls brought about by the European outbreak of foot and mouth disease had caused some disruption to supplies, by and large the financial impact of the disease in the sector had been negligible.
Having warned during February that bovine diseases in Europe could threaten its gross margins, Nike was now playing down such concerns, the report said. In issuing its fourth quarter earnings for fiscal 2001 late last month, Nike made no mention of the issue. A company spokeswoman was also quoted as saying the diseases "were not of material importance" during the quarter.
The assertion appears to be borne out by the figures. Despite acknowledged problems with unfavourable foreign currency swings and "supply chain difficulties," Nike ended its fourth quarter on May 31 with a net income of $163 million, or 60 cents per diluted share, up from $126 million, or 46 cents per diluted share, in the year-ago period. Revenue for the quarter was up by 9 percent to $2.5 billion from last year while total year-end earnings growth amounted to 4 percent.
