Nike Posts 4Q Beat

Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE) reported better-than-expected quarterly results, as demand for its apparel and footwear rose in North America and Western Europe after the company spent heavily on marketing ahead of the 2014 soccer World Cup.

Shares of the world's largest sports wear maker rose about 3 percent to $79.23 in extended trading.

Nike, known for its characteristic 'swoosh' or tick logo, gets more than half of its total revenue from North America and Western Europe.

The company has been giving tough competition to Germany's Adidas AG <ADSGn.DE> on the hotly-contested European turf.

Nike maintained its share of the Western Europe sportswear market at about 12 percent in 2013, while Adidas's share shrank to 12.6 percent in the year from 13.2 percent in 2012, according to Euromonitor International data.

Nike's spending on marketing rose 36 percent in the fourth quarter ended May 31 as it signed up soccer legends Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney for commercials to promote its merchandise ahead of the World Cup.

The event, hosted by Brazil, marks the first time that Nike is sponsoring more national teams than Adidas.

Orders for Nike-branded shoes and clothing scheduled for delivery between June and November, a gauge of demand the company calls "futures orders," rose 12 percent globally in the quarter, excluding the impact of currency fluctuations.

The rise in orders was driven by Western Europe, where futures orders jumped 25 percent.

Nike's net income from continuing operations rose to $698 million, or 78 cents per share, in the quarter from $690 million, or 76 cents per share, a year earlier.

Revenue from continuing operations rose 13 percent to $7.43 billion, excluding currency fluctuations.

Analysts on average had expected a profit of 75 cents per share and revenue of $7.34 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

(Reporting by Devika Krishna Kumar in Bangalore; Editing by Kirti Pandey)