Nutraceutical Reports Fiscal 2011 Q1 Results

PARK CITY, Utah, Jan. 27, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Nutraceutical International Corporation (Nasdaq: NUTR) today reported results for the fiscal 2011 first quarter ended December 31, 2010.  Net sales for the fiscal 2011 first quarter were $45.2 million compared to $44.8 million for the same quarter of fiscal 2010.  For the first quarter of fiscal 2011, net income was $3.9 million, or $0.38 diluted earnings per share, compared to net income of $3.9 million, or $0.37 diluted earnings per share, for the same quarter of fiscal 2010.  

Operating cash flow for the fiscal 2011 first quarter ended December 31, 2010 was $6.3 million compared to $6.0 million for the same period of fiscal 2010.  This operating cash flow, combined with net borrowings of $2.0 million, was primarily used to invest $7.1 million in acquisitions of branded natural product businesses and $1.5 million in purchases of property and equipment.

Bill Gay, chairman and chief executive officer, commented, "Our fiscal 2011 first quarter net sales, net income and EBITDA remained strong.   At the same time, the health and natural foods retail market remains very competitive.  It appears to us that during this quarter many retailers – both large and small – continued to struggle with mixed operating success as a result of the marginal economic environment."

Mr. Gay continued, "We completed two small acquisitions in the first quarter. One of the acquisitions, which was acquired through a bankruptcy sale, provided us with a facility and liquid manufacturing capabilities.  This facility also provided a platform for us to begin consolidation of many of our existing liquid products as well as products acquired as part of the second acquisition.  Our focus remains on identifying small to medium size companies that primarily provide new product offerings not currently found in our current product portfolio.   In addition, we will continue to refine and improve our sales and marketing programs in an effort to further strengthen them.  We look forward to another successful and solid financial year."  

ABOUT NUTRACEUTICAL

We are an integrated manufacturer, marketer, distributor and retailer of branded nutritional supplements and other natural products sold primarily to and through domestic health and natural food stores.  Internationally, we market and distribute branded nutritional supplements and other natural products to and through health and natural product distributors and retailers.  Our core business strategy is to acquire, integrate and operate businesses in the natural products industry that manufacture, market and distribute branded nutritional supplements.  We believe that the consolidation and integration of these acquired businesses provides ongoing financial synergies through increased scale and market penetration, as well as strengthened customer relationships.

We manufacture and sell nutritional supplements and other natural products under numerous brands including Solaray®, KAL®, Nature's Life®, LifeTime®, Natural Balance®, bioAllers®, Herbs for Kids™, NaturalCare®, Health from the Sun®, Life-flo®, Organix South®, Pioneer® and Monarch Nutraceuticals™.

We own neighborhood natural food markets, which operate under the trade names The Real Food Company™, Thom's Natural Foods™ and Cornucopia Community Market™.  We also own health food stores, which operate under the trade names Fresh Vitamins™ and Granola's™.

We manufacture and/or distribute one of the broadest branded product lines in the industry with over 5,500 SKUs, including over 700 SKUs sold internationally.  We believe that as a result of our emphasis on innovation, quality, loyalty, education and customer service, our brands are widely recognized in health and natural food stores and among their customers.

This Press Release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 with respect to our financial condition, results of operations and business. These forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of terms such as "believe," "expects," "plan," "intend," "may," "will," "should," "can," or "anticipates," or the negative thereof, or variations thereon, or comparable terminology, or by discussions of strategy. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause industry trends or our actual results to be materially different from any future results expressed or implied by these statements.  Important factors that may cause our results to differ from these forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: (i) changes in or new government regulations or increased enforcement of the same, (ii) unavailability of desirable acquisitions or inability to complete them, (iii) increased costs, including from increased raw material or energy prices, (iv) changes in general worldwide economic or political conditions, (v) adverse publicity or negative consumer perception regarding nutritional supplements, (vi) issues with obtaining raw materials of adequate quality or quantity, (vii) litigation and claims, including product liability, intellectual property and other types,  (viii) disruptions from or following acquisitions including the loss of customers, (ix) increased competition, (x) slow or negative growth in the nutritional supplement industry or the healthy foods channel, (xi) the loss of key personnel or the inability to manage our operations efficiently, (xii) problems with information management systems, manufacturing efficiencies and operations, (xiii) insurance coverage issues, (xiv) the volatility of the stock market generally and of our stock specifically, (xv) increases in the cost of borrowings or unavailability of additional debt or equity capital, or both, or fluctuations in foreign currencies, and (xvi) interruption of business or negative impact on sales and earnings due to acts of God, acts of war, terrorism, bio-terrorism, civil unrest and other factors outside of our control.  Copies of our SEC reports are available upon request from our investor relations department or may be obtained at the SEC's website (www.sec.gov).

© 2011 Nutraceutical Corporation.  All rights reserved.

SOURCE Nutraceutical International Corporation