A $2.0 billion tax charge at Nike drove a 59% decline in industry profits in Q1 to $1,213,286,000 from $2,961,468,000 on aggregate sales that were up a solid 9% to $46,948,246,000 from $43,020,298,000. ROS was just 2.6% against 6.9% last year in a period that is seasonally relatively small for all sectors except equipment. Backing out NKE, profits would have gained 17% to $2,134,286,000 from $1,820,468,000 and ROS would be 5.6% vs. 5.3% in what was overall an excellent result for the industry, though there were certainly exceptions.

Nike took the charge in its fiscal third quarter for the Tax Cuts ... Log in to view full article.