Herbalife 3Q Earnings Spike 83 Percent
Tuesday November 6, 6:40 pm ET
Herbalife 3rd-Quarter Profit Spikes 83 Percent As Sales Increase and Interest Expense Drops
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Herbalife Ltd., which sells nutritional supplements and weight loss products, said Tuesday its third-quarter earnings spiked 83 percent, beating Wall Street forecasts, as sales increased and interest expense dropped.
Third-quarter earnings jumped to $48.3 million, or 67 cents per share, from $26.5 million, or 36 cents per share, in the prior year. Excluding refinancing charges and other one-time items, year-ago adjusted earnings totaled $38.1 million, or 51 cents per share.
Quarterly sales grew 11 percent to $529.5 million, from $476.4 million in the third quarter of 2006.
The results topped estimates of analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial, who forecast third-quarter earnings of 64 cents per share on revenue of $521.1 million.
Herbalife said double-digit sales growth in the U.S., Taiwan and China offset declines in other regions. Revenue surged 20 percent in the U.S., 24 percent in Taiwan and 89 percent in China.
In the company's largest region, which consists of Europe, the Middle East and Africa, revenue grew 5 percent to $133.8 million. Sales fell in Herbalife's Mexico and Central America region and its Brazil region.
Interest expense plunged 89 percent to $2.7 million, from $25.9 million in the prior-year period.
Herbalife shares fell 10 cents to $39.25 in after-hours trading, after gaining 65 cents to $39.35 during the regular session.