USANA 4e Quarter 2011 6% Up To $146 Million

USANA Health Sciences, Inc. (NYSE: USNA) announced financial results for its fiscal fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2011.

2011 marks the 9th consecutive year of record sales ($581.9 million) Fourth quarter net sales increase by 6.1% to $145.9 million.

Earnings per share increase to a record $3.26 for the year and $0.87 for the quarter. Company generated $70 million in cash.

Financial Performance

Net sales in the fourth quarter of 2011 increased by 6.1% to $145.9 million, compared with $137.5 million in the prior year period. This net sales growth was driven by the Company’s Asia Pacific region and was partially offset by a continued decline in net sales in the North America region.

Net earnings in the fourth quarter increased by 6.2% to $13.2 million, compared with the prior year period. This increase was due to improved gross profit margins and lower relative selling, general and administrative expenses, which were partially offset by increased associate incentive expense and a higher effective tax rate. Earnings per share for the quarter increased 16.0% to $0.87, compared with $0.75 in the fourth quarter of the prior year. This increase resulted from higher net earnings and a lower number of diluted shares outstanding due to share repurchases over the last 12 months.

Mr. Dave Wentz, Chief Executive Officer, said, “USANA’s 2011 record top-and-bottom-line results were the result of the significant effort put forth by our management team, employees and Associates around the world to drive financial performance, despite the challenges we faced during the year. Our planned market-specific promotions and events in the quarter contributed to our strong results and created positive momentum for the business going into 2012.”

Regional Results

Net sales in the Asia Pacific region increased by 14.0% to $88.9 million, compared with $78.0 million for the fourth quarter of the prior year. This improvement was due to strong sales growth in the Philippines, Hong Kong, South Korea and China. The number of active Associates in this region increased by 1.4%, due largely to growth in the Philippines, South Korea and China, and was partially offset by the expected decline in the number of active Associates in Hong Kong. Associate counts increased 157.1% in the Philippines, 50% in South Korea and 16.7% in China.

“Our Asia Pacific region continues to drive our growth,” continued Mr. Wentz. “With strong growth in emerging markets such as the Philippines, South Korea and China, along with our addition of Thailand in the first quarter of 2012, we are optimistic about the future of this region. Additionally, we continued to advance our integration of China during the fourth quarter, with the successful launch of several key USANA products. China remains our most significant growth opportunity in Asia Pacific, and we remain focused on educating and training our Associates to take advantage of the significant opportunities this market has to offer.”

During the fourth quarter of 2011, net sales in the North America region decreased by 4.2% to $57.1 million, compared with the fourth quarter of the prior year. The number of Active Associates in North America declined by 9.3%, compared with the fourth quarter of the prior year.