Under Armour Sees Revenue Doubling by 2018

Athletic wear maker Under Armour Inc said on Wednesday it expects to more than double revenues and build more than 800 stores outside North America by 2018 as it takes on bigger rival Nike Inc in the highly competitive athletic gear market.

The stock closed up 4.74 percent at $103.36 after touching a record high of $103.56 earlier.

Under Armour Chief Executive Richard Plank said at a biennial investor meeting at its Baltimore, Maryland, headquarters that he expects $7.5 billion in net revenue by 2018. That compares with $3.08 billion in 2014.

Analysts on average were expecting 2018 sales of $7.49 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Under Armour said it expects sales to grow as it expands into new markets such as Indonesia, Brunei and Vietnam, and innovates in its footwear business.

International sales are expected to account for 18 percent of total sales by 2018, the company said, up from 9 percent in 2014.

Under Armor has been quick to cash in on the new trend of "athleisure," a mash-up of athletic and casual clothing seen even in formal settings like offices.

That, along with the recent successes of sports stars such as golfer Jordan Spieth and basketball star Stephen Curry, have helped it race past Wall Street's estimates in the past few quarters and overtake Adidas AG as the second biggest U.S. footwear maker.

Sales in its most recent quarter rose 29 percent to $783.6 million, topping the analysts' average estimate of $761.5 million.

Plank also said sales were outpacing internal growth forecasts, helping the company achieve its previously announced $4 billion target for 2016, a year earlier.

Under Armour's shares have risen 52.2 percent this year, compared with the Standard & Poor's 500 index's 3.09 percent decline. (Reporting by Siddharth Cavale in New York and Ramkumar Iyer in Bengaluru; Editing by Richard Chang)