Nu Skin Q3 – 2012 Sales +23% To $526 Million

 

Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE: NUS) today announced record third-quarter results with revenue of $526.2 million, a 23 percent improvement over the prior-year period. Revenue was negatively impacted 3 percent from foreign currency fluctuations. Earnings per share for the quarter were $0.87, a 21 percent year-over-year improvement. Additionally, the company announced that it is increasing its full-year 2012 revenue guidance to $2.11 billion, a 21 percent growth rate over 2011.

By continuing to execute on our business strategy, we were able to generate another record quarter, putting us on track to reach a milestone of more than $2 billion in annual revenue in 2012, said Truman Hunt, president and chief executive officer. The quarter was highlighted by healthy trends in all of our regions, strong demand for our anti-aging products and growth in our customer base and sales force.

We were particularly pleased with local-currency growth in Japan and South Korea. This growth reflects increased distributor activity in anticipation of the October limited-time-offer of our ageLOC Body Spa and related products. Our South Asia/Pacific and Greater China regions generated solid local-currency growth of 53 and 64 percent, respectively. The Americas and Europe regions also reported healthy gains with approximately 20 percent year-over-year local-currency growth, continued Hunt.

Building on our momentum, we held successful regional conventions in the United States, Japan and Europe in the month of October. We are encouraged by the sales activity we are experiencing in both emerging and more mature markets and we expect to continue to sustain growth in 2013. We also continue to improve the execution of our product launches, strengthen our future product pipeline, and generate healthy growth throughout the world.

Regional Results

North Asia. Third-quarter revenue in North Asia was $184.7 million, compared to $184.3 million for the same period in 2011. The region's results were negatively impacted approximately 2 percent from foreign currency fluctuations. Japan local-currency revenue improved 1 percent while South Korea experienced local-currency revenue growth of 6 percent. The number of executives in the region was up 2 percent while the number of actives improved 1 percent.

Greater China. Third-quarter revenue in Greater China increased 64 percent to $136.6 million, compared to $83.4 million in the prior-year period. Foreign currency fluctuations did not materially impact revenue in the region. Local-currency revenue in Mainland China improved 60 percent over the same quarter in 2011. Third-quarter revenue in Hong Kong and Taiwan included $13.6 million and $7.2 million, respectively, from limited-time offers in the second quarter. The sales leader count in the region improved 51 percent, while the number of actives increased by 38 percent compared to the prior-year. 

South Asia/Pacific. Revenue in South Asia/Pacific was $91.1 million, a 47 percent improvement compared to the prior year. Sales in the quarter were negatively impacted 5 percent by foreign currency fluctuations. Limited-time offers generated $29.3 million in revenue during the third quarter. The region's third-quarter executive count improved 22 percent while the active count increased 14 percent compared to the same period in 2011.

Americas. Revenue in the Americas improved 19 percent to $70.5 million, compared to $59.4 million in the prior-year period. The United States posted a 15 percent revenue increase during the quarter. The number of executives improved 14 percent while the number of actives remained approximately even with the prior year.

Europe. Revenue in Europe was $43.2 million, a 9 percent improvement over the prior-year period. Results in the region were negatively impacted 14 percent by foreign currency fluctuations. Executives and actives in Europe increased 23 and 12 percent, respectively, compared to the prior year.

Operational Performance

The company's operating margin remained strong at 15.7 percent for the quarter, level with the prior year. Gross margin during the quarter was 83.5 percent, consistent with the prior year. Selling expenses, as a percent of revenue, were 44.8 percent in the third quarter, representing a 180 basis-point increase. The increase is driven by accelerated sales growth in many of our markets, due in part to successful product launches and a higher number of sales leaders qualifying for promotional incentives. General and administrative expenses, as a percent of revenue, were 23.1 percent, improving 180 basis-points over the prior year. Other income and expenses reflected a gain of $1.2 million compared to a loss of $6.9 million in the prior year.   

The company's income tax rate for the quarter was 35.2 percent compared to 22.4 percent in the prior-year period. The lower rate in the previous year was primarily attributable to a one-time tax benefit. The company's cash and short-term investment position at the end of the quarter was $337.7 million. Dividend payments during the quarter were $11.9 million, and the company repurchased $66.3 million of its outstanding shares. The company has repurchased nearly $180 million of its outstanding shares in 2012.

Outlook

Based on the strength of our business and the growth of our global sales force, we are raising our expectations for the fourth quarter and full year, said Ritch Wood, chief financial officer. We expect fourth quarter revenue to be in the $520 million to $530 million range, which increases our annual revenue guidance to $2.10 billion to $2.11 billion. Fourth quarter revenue guidance anticipates a 2 percent negative impact from foreign currency fluctuations. We expect earnings per share to be $0.78 to $0.82 for the fourth quarter, and $3.33 to $3.37 for the year.

We continue to invest in a number of initiatives that we believe will sustain business growth, including our anti-aging product pipeline, sales force development, as well as focus on emerging markets, said Hunt. We look forward to sharing the details of our future plans with shareholders on November 14^th at our annual analyst and investor day, where we will also provide our 2013 financial guidance and an update regarding our accelerated timeline to hit our $4.00 per share earnings target.

The company's management will host a webcast with the investment community on Oct. 31, at 11 a.m. (EDT). Those wishing to access the webcast, as well as the financial information presented during the call, can visit the Investor Relations page on Nu Skin Enterprises' website, https://ir.nuskin.com. An archive of the webcast will be available at this same URL through Nov. 23, 2012.   

About Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc.

Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc. demonstrates its tradition of innovation through its comprehensive anti-aging product portfolio, independent business opportunity and corporate social responsibility initiatives. The company's scientific leadership in both skin care and nutrition has established Nu Skin as a premier anti-aging company. The company's anti-aging products feature the new ageLOC^® suite of products including the ageLOC^® R² nutritional supplement, ageLOC^® Galvanic Spa System and ageLOC^® Galvanic Body Spa™, as well as the ageLOC^® Transformation daily skin care system. A global direct selling company, Nu Skin operates in 53 markets worldwide and has more than 900,000 active distributors and preferred customers. Nu Skin is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol NUS. More information is available at https://www.nuskin.com.