Athletics giant Nike Inc has reported an income of $129 million in the latest quarter, a gain of eight per cent from last year's $119m.

For the second quarter ended 30 November 2001, revenues increased six per cent to $2.3 billion, versus $2.2bn for the same period last year.
 
Worldwide futures orders for athletic footwear and apparel, scheduled for delivery between December 2001 and April 2002, totalled $3.9bn, eight per cent higher than such orders reported for the same period last year.

By region, the USA was up eight per cent; Europe increased seven per cent; Asia Pacific grew nine per cent; and the Americas grew 17 per cent. In constant dollars, futures orders for Europe increased nine per cent; Asia Pacific grew 16 per cent; and the Americas increased 22 per cent.

Chairman and CEO Philip H Knight said: "The acceleration of Nike's futures orders over the previous quarter is a testament to the strength of both our product and our brand.

"We are particularly pleased to report improvement in our USA futures orders which reflects the continued recovery of our largest business, US footwear, and accelerating momentum in our US apparel business."