Nike Loses Its Footing; Profit Stumbles 30%

Nike(NKE Quote), true to its slogan, is just doing it -- if by "it" you mean posting a quarterly plunge in profits of 30%.

The news sent shares down 5% to $50.75 in after-market trading.

The sneaker giant earned $341.4 million during the quarter, or 70 cents a share, compared with $490.5 million, or 98 cents, in the year-ago period.

Excluding items, Nike said it earned 99 cents a share. Analysts were expecting a profit of 96 cents a share.

Total revenues declined 7% to $4.71 billion from $5.09 billion, while U.S. revenues dropped 2% to $1.6 billion.

By far its biggest challenge is in apparel. U.S. apparel revenue tumbled 15% to $379.8 million. But footwear increased 2% to $1.2 billion and equipment revenues were up 2% to $85.5 million.

Nike said futures orders scheduled for delivery from June 2009 through November 2009 totaled $7.8 billion, 12% lower than orders during the same time last year. Excluding currency changes, reported orders would have declined 5%.

During the quarter, Nike cut more than 1,750 jobs worldwide, or 5% of its global workforce. The cuts follow hiring freezes and inventory controls, all of which Nike is using as a way to improve its bottom line.