Nutrastar Announces Record Full Year 2011 Results

HARBIN, China, March 28, 2012 /PRNewswire-Asia-FirstCall/ -- Nutrastar International Inc. (OTCBB: NUIN; "Nutrastar" or the "Company"), a leading producer and supplier of premium branded consumer products, including commercially cultivated Cordyceps Militaris ("Cordyceps"), functional health beverages and organic and specialty foods, today announced its results for the year ended December 31, 2011.

Financial Highlights for the Year Ended December 31, 2011:

• Revenues increased 41.1% to $34.21 million compared to $24.24 million in the year ended December 31, 2010.
• Gross profit increased 32.4% to $25.96 million, up from $19.6 million in the comparable 2010 year, representing a gross margin of 75.9%.
• Net income rose 26.3% to $17.00 million, up from $13.44 million in 2010, representing a net margin of 49.7%.
• Basic and diluted EPS were $1.12 and $1.04, respectively with 14.78 million basic shares and 16.34 million diluted shares outstanding.

Ms. Lianyun Han, CEO of Nutrastar, commented, "2011 marked another year of record sales for Nutrastar. With Chinese consumer demand for our premium products remaining strong, we met our revenue guidance for the year with total revenues reaching $34.21 million, up 41% year-over-year. Orders for our core consumer product, Cordyceps remained robust, contributing $25.34 million to our top line, while our organic and specialty food business contributed roughly $2.02 million. As a result of our marketing and branding efforts, our functional health beverages saw sales grow to $6.85 million for 2011 with $3.38 million in sales recorded in the fourth quarter alone, up 60% from third quarter sales of $2.11 million. While still high, gross margins declined to 75.9% from 80.9% in 2010 due to the increased contribution of our beverage products which incur a higher cost of production than our core consumer product, Cordyceps."

"In addition to sales growth, Nutrastar was active in corporate and product development initiatives. In 2011, we adopted a share repurchase program in August and grew our internal Cordyceps production capacity to 72 tons representing an increase of 30%," stated Ms. Han. "We are also in the process of strategically diversifying our product offerings with the addition of an instant soluble drink powder as well as a forthcoming variety of organic products stemming from the sizeable expansion of our organic & specialty foods business that is currently underway. We expect to see a revenue stream from these products in the near future."

Commenting on 2012, Ms. Han stated, "We foresee a continuation of our production capacity expansion, solid sales of our core consumer product, Cordyceps, growing sales of both our functional health beverages and organic & specialty foods, and the introduction of new premium consumer products to the market such as our Cordyceps-infused alcohol product. We also expect, with market and regulatory conditions permitting, to continue to purchase additional shares under our share repurchase program. Armed with augmented capacity, in-demand consumer products and the expectation of new premium consumer products being introduced to the market, we are confident that 2012 will be an even better year for Nutrastar than the previous."

Financial Position as of December 31, 2011

The Company had cash and cash equivalents totaling $54.56 million or $3.34 per diluted share, total assets of approximately $76.43 million or $4.68 per diluted share, working capital of $52.33 million or $3.20 per diluted share, and stockholders' equity of $72.02 million. The Net cash generated from operating activities was $18.80 million for the year ended December 31, 2011 as compared to $15.35 million in the comparable 2010 period.  As part of the year end audit, the Company's cash on hand was vouched for and verified by our independent auditors in person.

Outlook for the Year Ending December 31, 2012

Based on management's current expectations, the Company maintains its belief that revenue will be in the range of $40 million to $44 million, representing an approximate 17% to 29% top line increase year over year.

Conference Call

Nutrastar will host a conference call at 8:30 a.m. EDT on Wednesday, March 28, 2012 to discuss the Company's full year 2011 results. Ms. Lianyun Han, Chief Executive Officer, and Mr. Robert Tick, Chief Financial Officer, will be hosting the call.

Investors can participate on the live call by dialing +1 (877) 407-0784 for domestic investors and +1 (201) 689-8560 for international investors.  Please reference event ID: 390950.

For investors that would like to listen to the webcast, please log on to http://viavid.net/dce.aspx?sid=000094F8  approximately 5 minutes before the start of the call.

If you are unable to participate in the call at this time, a replay of the call will be available for two weeks following the call starting at 11:30 a.m. EDT, March 28, 2012 and ending at 11:59 p.m. EDT on April 11, 2012. To listen to the replay, domestic investors can dial +1 (877) 870-5176 and international investors can dial +1 (858) 384-5517.  The pass code for the replay is: 390950.

For more information regarding Nutrastar's financial performance during the year ended December 31, 2011, please refer to the Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

About Nutrastar International Inc.

Nutrastar is a China based leading producer and supplier of premium branded consumer products including commercially cultivated Cordyceps Militaris, functional health beverages as well as specialty and organic foods. Cordyceps Militaris is one of the most highly regarded herbal nutrients in Traditional Chinese Medicine. The Company is headquartered in Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang Province, with 332 employees, including 21 in R&D, and 149 in sales and marketing. The products of Nutrastar are sold throughout China via a sales and distribution network that covers more than 10 provinces. More information may be found at http://www.nutrastarintl.com/ or e-mail: [email protected]

Make sure you are first to receive timely up-to-date information on Nutrastar. Sign up for Nutrastar's email news alert system today at: http://www.nutrastarintl.com/alerts

Safe Harbor Statement

This news release contains "forward-looking statements" relating to the business of Nutrastar International Inc., its subsidiaries and other affiliate companies.  All statements, other than statements of historical fact included herein are "forward-looking statements" including statements concerning plans, objectives, goals, strategies, future events or performance, and underlying assumptions and other statements that are other than statements of historical facts.  These forward-looking statements are often identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "believes," "expects" or similar expressions.  These statements are subject to uncertainties and risks including, but not limited to, product and service demand and acceptance, changes in technology, economic conditions, the impact of competition and pricing, government regulation, and other risks contained in reports filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements attributable to the Company or persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by these factors.  You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. Other than as required under the securities laws, the Company does not assume a duty to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof.

For more information, please contact:

Howard Gostfrand
American Capital Ventures
Tel:  +1-305-918-7000
Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Nutrastar International Inc.