FILE PHOTO: A silhouette of a woman wearing a protective face shield and a protective face mask is seen near to a Nike logo at a shopping mall on the first day after the government eased restrictions amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Jaka
(Reuters) - Nike Inc <NKE.N> said on Friday it would raise its quarterly dividend by 12%, or 3 cents per share, underscoring the financial strength of the world's largest sportswear maker in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nike in September said it expects sales in the second half of its fiscal year ending May 2021 to be "up significantly", as it bounces back from a slump earlier this year when retailers canceled orders and lockdowns kept people away from stores in key markets.
The company's share price, up about 30% this year, has more than doubled since its March low as it slashed costs by cutting corporate jobs and targeted online investments.
A cash dividend of $0.275 per share on Nike's outstanding class A and class B stock is payable on Dec. 29.
2020 marks Nike's 19th consecutive year of increasing dividend payouts, after raising quarterly payments by 11% in 2019, and comes as many other companies either cut or pause shareholder returns due to the virus outbreak.
(Reporting by Uday Sampath in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)
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