Nature’s Sunshine Q1 Revenue Down 1.8% To $83.9 Million

 

Nature's Sunshine Products, Inc. (NASDAQ: NATR), a leading natural health and wellness company engaged in the manufacture and direct selling of nutritional and personal care products, recently reported its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2016.

Net sales revenue of $82.4 million decreased 1.8% compared to $83.9 million in the first quarter of 2015. On a local currency basis, net sales revenue increased 1.3% compared to the first quarter of 2015.

Net sales revenue was negatively impacted by $2.5 million of unfavorable foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations as well as a $1.1 million decline in net sales in the NSP Russia, Central and Eastern Europe segment.

Net income from continuing operations was $1.8 million, or $0.11 per diluted common share, compared to $4.2 million, or $0.23 per diluted common share, in the first quarter of 2015.

Earnings per diluted common share for the first quarter of 2016 were impacted by several factors including: the Company's investment in China of approximately $0.07 per share and unfavorable changes in the effective tax rate of $0.02 per share.

Adjusted EBITDA was $4.2 million compared to $7.7 million in the first quarter of 2015. Adjusted EBITDA, which is a non-GAAP financial measure, is defined here as net income from continuing operations before taxes, depreciation, amortization and other income adjusted to exclude share-based compensation expense.

While the overall results for the quarter were depressed by continuing currency headwinds and challenges in Russia, Central and Eastern Europe, I am pleased with our first quarter results, which reflect the progress we have made toward returning Nature's Sunshine to sustainable, long-term growth, commented Gregory L. Probert, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. We were particularly pleased by the ongoing strong execution in NSP United States and NSP

Canada, which both posted their seventh consecutive quarters of year-over-year local currency sales growth. In addition, Synergy WorldWide reported its best first quarter ever, which was driven by a successful business model and process improvements taking hold in Korea, Japan, Indonesia and Thailand. We also continue to make good progress in China and remain on-track to obtain our direct selling license in the third quarter of 2016.

Mr. Probert continued, The vast majority of the strength demonstrated in NSP United States and NSP Canada during the quarter was led by our patent-pending IN.FORM program. The new and improved IN.FORM program was clinically studied in the Hughes Center for Research and Innovation and formulated to improve gut health and support healthy metabolic function.

IN.FORM has been integral to attracting new Distributors, and increasing engagement among existing Distributors in the United States and Canada. We believe IN.FORM will also be key to igniting growth in our Latin American markets.

Furthermore, we made significant progress in streamlining our focus for Synergy WorldWide to a more unified sales and product strategy, the Elite Health System. This system has proven successful in Asia and we intend to expand it into other markets, such as other parts of Asia and Europe, later this year.

About Nature's Sunshine Products

Nature's Sunshine Products (NASDAQ: NATR), a leading natural health and wellness company, markets and distributes nutritional and personal care products through a global direct sales force of over 573,000 independent Managers, Distributors and customers in more than 40 countries.

Nature's Sunshine manufactures most of its products through its own state-of-the-art facilities to ensure its products continue to set the standard for the highest quality, safety and efficacy on the market today. The Company has four reportable business segments that are divided based on the characteristics of their Distributor base, similarities in compensation plans, as well as the internal organization of NSP's officers and their responsibilities (NSP Americas; NSP Russia, Central and Eastern Europe; Synergy WorldWide; and China and New Markets). The Company also supports health and wellness for children around the world through its partnership with the Sunshine Heroes Foundation.