Nu Skin said a strong dollar negatively affected its full-year revenue by more than $100 million
Nu Skin shares tumbled 3.01% to $43.23 in pre-market trading Thursday after the company reported weaker than expected fourth-quarter results. Though its revenues edged past the Wall Street estimates, earnings fell short. The personal care products maker reported $609.6 million in sales, beating the consensus estimate of $599.88 million. Nu Skin had generated $1.06 billion revenue in the corresponding quarter a year ago. The Q4, 2013 revenue was boosted by $350 million in limited time offer sales of its ageLOC TR90 weight management system.
Nu Skin’s Greater China revenue falls 56%
Revenue in Greater China witnessed a whopping 56% decline. The Provo-based company said forex fluctuations affected its Q4 revenue by 4%. However, its earnings plunged 63% YoY in a major disappointment to investors. Nu Skin earned $46.5 million or 77 cents per share, down from 125.3 million or $2.02 per share in the corresponding quarter last year. The company said its Q4 earnings were affected by forex fluctuations and prepayment fees associated with its debt refinancing.
For full-year 2014, the company generated $2.57 billion in revenue, down 19% from the previous year. Full-year earnings came in at $3.11 per share, missing analysts’ projection of $4.10 per share. Nu Skin said a strong dollar negatively affected its full-year revenue by more than $100 million. Operating margin declined from 17.9% in Q4, 2013 to 15% in the latest quarter.
Nu Skin issues weak guidance
Nu Skin’s gross margins also fell from 84.4% to 82.5%. The company ended the quarter with $300.2 million in cash and cash equivalents, and $247.3 million of debts on its balance sheet. For the current quarter, Nu Skin guided revenue of $530 million to $550 million, lower than the consensus estimate of $568.37 million. It expects Q1 earnings between 70 and 74 cents a share, much lower than analysts’ projection of 91 cents.
Nu Skin announced that its board of directors has increased the quarterly dividend from $0.345 to $0.35 per share. The quarterly dividend will be paid on March 18 to shareholders of record on February 27.
Nu Skin shares were down 2.83% to $43.31 in pre-market trading. The stock has declined more than 23% in the past six months.
