Sportswear company Nike has reported a 25 per cent rise in quarterly profit, beating analysts' estimates, on growing demand for its namesake products in the United States.
The company said fiscal first-quarter net income increased to $326.8 million, or $1.21 per share, from $261.2 million, or 98 cents per share, a year earlier.
Revenue rose 18 per cent to $3.56 billion from $3.02 billion a year earlier, driven by double-digit gains in the United States, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.
The company's worldwide futures orders for athletic footwear and apparel for delivery between September 2004 and January 2005, a key forward-looking indicator, increased nearly 10 per cent to $4.3 billion.
Growth in the United States hit its highest level in more than seven years.