Strong Nike sales in the United States and Europe helped offset pandemic challenges in China and Asia-Pacific in the second quarter and supported a better-than-expected result for the sportswear maker.

Nike said on Monday it continued to manage the impact of supply chain disruptions on the market, but chief executive John Donahoe said the company was, overall, “in a much more competitive position. strong today than it was 18 months ago “.

These supply chain disruptions were most notable in Asia, with the US-based company reporting that revenues in China and the Asia-Pacific and Latin America regions declined “largely due to the decline. levels of available stocks resulting from plant closures linked to Covid-19 ”.

While these closures have negatively impacted the company’s overall portfolio, management said North America and Europe, the Middle East and Africa experienced growth due to ” higher levels of inventory in transit as we enter the second quarter ”.

Three months ago, Nike spoke of the “constant normalization” of physical retailing as pandemic-era restrictions eased, but it was before the latest wave of measures that a growing number of countries have taken in recent weeks to stem the spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.

Overall, Nike reported revenue of nearly $ 11.36 billion in the three months ended November 30. It was up 1% from a year ago, excluding currency fluctuations, but topped by about $ 100 million what analysts predicted in a Refinitiv survey.

Net income of $ 1.34 billion, up 7% from a year ago, beat Wall Street’s median forecast of $ 1.01 billion.

Nike’s direct-to-consumer channel sales were up 8% from a year ago in the second quarter. This was led by North America, where the company said it had record sales for Nike Direct during Black Friday week around the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States.

Nike stock rose 4.8% on Monday afternoon.