Investing.com -- Shares in Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE) soared more than 4% in after-hours trading on Thursday, after the sneaker and athletic apparel giant projected a "low double-digit percentage" increase in fourth quarter revenues on a year-over-year basis from 2014.
Earlier on Thursday, Nike reported that revenues for third quarter that ended in February were up 7% to $7.5 billion while diluted earnings per share increased by 19%. When revenues were calculated on a currency-neutral basis, the figure rose to 13% for the third quarter.
Nike shares increased 3.98 or 4.05% to 102.30 in after-hours trading. Nike closed Thursday's session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average, as the second-highest gainer behind Merck & Company Inc (NYSE:MRK) after it rose 0.83% or 0.81 to 98.32.
“Our strong third quarter results show that our growth strategies are working, even under challenging macroeconomic conditions,” Nike, Inc. president and CEO Mark Parker said in a statement. “Nike has the ability to deliver consistent shareholder value due to the strength of our brand, our relentless commitment to innovation and our powerful portfolio that allows us to invest in the opportunities with the highest potential for growth as well as manage risk.”
Buoyed by expanded distribution through Europe in Austria, Germany and Switzerland and growth in its direct to consumer business, revenues for Nike's Converse division increased 33% to $538 billion in the third quarter.
Nike also repurchased 6.5 million shares during the quarter for approximately $612 million as part of a four-year, $8 billion program its board approved in 2012, the company said in a statement.
While Nike reported that its effective tax rate increased to 24.4% from 22.5 during the third quarter in 2014, the company said it mitigated the added tax burden with proceeds from the "retroactive reinstatement of the U.S. research and development tax credit."