• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, June 23, 2010

Riding high on its "Write the Future" world football campaign, Nike executives announced that fourth-quarter profits came in strong and say its proactive strategy throughout the recession is paying off in a big way.

"I said a year ago that Nike is not a 'wait and see' company, and we weren't about to let our core strengths sit idle," Mark Parker, president and CEO, said in the earnings conference call, which was webcast. "Because we stayed on offense, we delivered a strong year in a tough global economy, and we're stronger financially than we've ever been."