NIKE Inc. (NKE)
Q3 2009 Earnings Call Transcript
March 18, 2009 5:00 p.m. ET

Executives

Pamela Catlett - Vice President of Investor Relations
Mark G. Parker – President, Chief Executive Officer & Director
Charles D. Denson - President - Nike Brand
Donald W. Blair - Chief Financial Officer & Vice President

Analysts

Robert Drbul - Barclays Capital
Omar Saad - Credit Suisse
Robby Ohmes – Bank of America/Merrill Lynch
Kate McShane - Citigroup
Jim Duffy - Thomas Weisel Partners
Chris Svezia – Susquehanna Financial Group
Michelle Tan – Goldman Sachs & Co.

Presentation

Operator

Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to Nike''s fiscal 2009 third quarter conference call. For those who need to reference today''s press release you will find it at www.nikebiz.com. Leading today''s call is Pamela Catlett, Vice President, Investor Relations.

Before I turn the call over to Ms. Catlett, let me remind you that participants of this call will make forward-looking statements based on current expectations and those statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. These risks and uncertainties are detailed in the reports filed with the SEC including Forms 8-K, 10-K and 10-Q.

Some forward-looking statements concern future orders that are not necessarily indicative of changes in total revenues for subsequent periods due to mix of futures and at-once orders, exchange rate fluctuations, order cancellations and discounts which may vary significantly from quarter-to-quarter. In addition, it is important to remember a significant portion of NIKE, Inc.''s business including equipment; most of Nike Retail, NIKE golf, Cole Haan, Converse, Hurley and Umbro are not included in these futures numbers.

Finally, participants may discuss non-GAAP financial measures. The presentation of comparable GAAP measures and quantitative reconciliations are found at Nike''s website. This call might also include discussion of non-public financial and statistical information, which is also publicly available on that site, www.nikebiz.com.

Now I would like to turn the call over to Pamela Catlett, Vice President, Investor Relations.

Pamela Catlett

Thank you and thank you everyone for joining us today to discuss Nike''s fiscal 2009 third quarter results. As the operator indicated, participants on today''s call may discuss non-GAAP financial measures. You will find the appropriate reconciliations in our press release which was issued about an hour ago and at our website www.nikebiz.com.

Joining us on today''s call will be NIKE, Inc. CEO and President, Mark Parker, followed by Charlie Denson, President of the NIKE Brand, and finally you will hear from our Chief Financial Officer, Don Blair, who will give you an in-depth review of our financial results. Following their prepared remarks, we will take your questions.

I will now turn the call over to NIKE Inc. President and CEO, Mark Parker.

Mark G. Parker

Thanks Pam and good afternoon everybody. I see our third quarter as a snapshot of how to deliver value in a volatile economy. Today’s results have a lot of parts, but underlying all of them are excellent operating results driven by healthy revenue growth, share gains for the Nike brand and flexible and prudent business management.

In tough times having strong brands and sound business principles is just the beginning. We’ve had the same simple and powerful strategy for years; stay close to the consumer, drive innovation into the marketplace, operate with excellence and manage with financial discipline. Q3 proves that Nike can be opportunistic in the short-term and position the company to deliver consistent, long-term value to shareholders. I feel very good about our performance and our potential.

It’s good to be in the business of sports, especially now when core values and passions gain so much importance and because we are the leader and the innovator in the business we are positioned to catalyze and expand growth. It’s not enough to be a legacy player in today’s global economy. A company’s history is not nearly as important as its potential. There’s a new premium being defined and it is based on trust, authenticity, innovation and a deep connection with the consumer and these are the things that people value and the things that Nike delivers consistently.