Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) Released its earnings numbers for the three months through June this afternoon after the market closed on Wall Street. The nutritional supplement seller showed earnings per share of $1.55 for the quarter, which the company recorded as its second of fiscal year 2014. Revenue came in at $1.31 billion. On today’s market shares in Herbalife performed well and finished the day trading at $67.48.
The same three months of 2013 saw Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) report earnings per share of $1.41 on revenue totaling $1.2 billion. In the run up to this afternoon’s release of the company’s numbers, analysts following the firm were expecting it to show earnings per share of $1.57 on revenue totaling $1.4 billion by consensus. Consensus estimated were taken from a Businessweek survey of 4 analysts following the company into earnings.
Herbalife performance remains good
The growth over last year demonstrated in this report is enough to make anyone optimistic about the future at Herbalife ltd. (NYSE:HLF), if it weren’t for the unpleasantness the company faces in Federal probes, of course. The firm’s future trading is nothing like guaranteed, and that accounts for the 15% decrease in the value of the company since 2014 began.
Right after the earnings numbers were shown off this afternoon the company’s shares collapsed in value, losing more than 7% directly after the release. The CEO’s opinion of earnings seemed more defensive than hopeful. Michael Johnson said “Our performance is a testament to the enthusiasm our millions of consumers and members have for our products. Additionally, our independent members are successfully executing numerous growth strategies to further develop customer loyalty and encourage individuals across our network to lead healthier, nutritious lives. Our members are proud to be a part of a solution to global public health issues and we value the integral role they play in Herbalife.”
Lows have been beaten, however, and the company’s stock appears to be on an upward trajectory in recent days, particularly after Bill Ackman’s attempts to undermine the company last week.
Ackman Herbalife presentations falls flat
Despite warnings that he had information that would seriously undermine Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) the market in general is distinctly unimpressed with his short campaign against the company. That campaign is still, despite the momentum against the hedge fund manager, the biggest factor in determining the company’s share movements.
A presentation that Ackman delivered last week failed to change the optimism surrounding the company, and actually resulted in the company’s share price increasing significantly. The future of the Ackman short on Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) isn’t known, and the level at which he is likely to bow to pressure about losses is likely the determining factor. Earnings don’t really matter at this stage, it’s down to the decisions made by the Federal Trade Commission and other regulators.
The Ackman accusations about the goings on in the Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) 100 Club are likely to be the subject of questioning when the company speaks to shareholders tomorrow morning. A conference call to talk about the second quarter earnings report is due to be held at 11 AM tomorrow morning. Apart from questioning the state of the company after Ackman’s presentations, analysts and investors are going to want to hear about the company’s growth plans for the year ahead.
