June 24 (Bloomberg) -- Nike Inc., the world’s largest athletic-shoe maker, fell in late trading after it said orders declined 12 percent because of the global economic slump.

Excluding the effect of currency exchange rates, worldwide orders for delivery from June through November fell 5 percent from a year earlier. Sara Hasan, an analyst with McAdams Wright Ragen Inc. in Seattle, projected orders would decline 2 percent at most, on that basis.

“Considering the environment that we’re in and the state of the global economy, the question was how weak were they going to be,” she said.

The demand reflected higher orders a year ago before the Beijing Summer Olympics as well as a “significantly more difficult consumer environment,” Chief Financial Officer Don Blair said on a conference call with analysts and investors. A global credit crisis sent stock indexes to their worst annual losses since the Great Depression, shrunk home values and led corporations, including Nike, to fire workers.

Nike tumbled $2.53, or 4.8 percent, to $50.49 at 6:22 p.m. New York time after the earnings were announced. Earlier, the shares fell 52 cents to $53.02 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. They have climbed 4 percent this year.

Jordan Shoes

Net income decreased to $341.4 million, or 70 cents a share, in the fourth quarter that ended May 31, from $490.5 million, or 98 cents, a year earlier. Excluding costs related to job cuts, profit was 99 cents, beating the 96-cent average of analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

Sales in the U.S. fell 2.3 percent to $1.6 billion, hurt by apparel revenue, which dropped 15 percent because of “challenging market conditions,” Beaverton, Oregon-based Nike said today in a statement.

Jordan and Nike brand shoes gained 2 percentage points of market share in the U.S., Blair said.

Total revenue fell 7.4 percent to $4.7 billion. Excluding currency changes, sales were flat compared with a year ago.

Mark Parker, Nike’s chief executive officer, said consumers’ “heightened sense of caution” is likely to continue. “We’re moving slowly back to where we need to be,” Parker said on the call. “But it’s going to take a while. Let’s be real.”

The retailer is reducing advertising and manufacturing costs to save about $200 million a year. Nike said last month it is cutting about 1,750 jobs, 5 percent of its workforce of 35,000, to thin management ranks as sales slow.

To contact the reporter on this story: Mark Clothier in Atlanta at mclothier@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: June 24, 2009 18:55 EDT