NUTR Nutraceutical International Corp. (MM)

PARK CITY, Utah, Nov. 20, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Nutraceutical International Corporation (NASDAQ:  NUTR) today reported results for the fiscal 2012 fourth quarter ended September 30, 2012.  Net sales for the fiscal 2012 fourth quarter were $50.3 million compared to $45.8 million for the same quarter of fiscal 2011.  For the fourth quarter of fiscal 2012, net income was $4.2 million, or $0.42 diluted earnings per share, compared to net income of $3.3 million, or $0.32 diluted earnings per share, for the same quarter of fiscal 2011. 

Net sales for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2012 were $200.4 million compared to $188.1 million for the same period in fiscal 2011.  For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2012, net income was $15.8 million, or $1.59 diluted earnings per share, compared to net income of $15.7 million, or $1.51 diluted earnings per share, for the same period of fiscal 2011.  Net income for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2012 included a non-cash intangible asset impairment charge of $0.6 million, net of tax, or $0.06 per diluted share, related to the consolidation of our Alan James Group™ brand into our Body Gold® brand.  The charge represented the entire carrying amount of the Alan James Group™ brand.  We believe this brand consolidation provides increased operational efficiencies and synergies and will enhance certain customer relationships.     

Operating cash flow for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2012 was $27.2 million compared to $26.3 million for the same period of fiscal 2011.  The fiscal 2012 operating cash flow was primarily used to invest $12.2 million in acquisitions of natural product businesses, $10.0 million in purchases of property, plant and equipment and $5.6 million in repurchases of common stock. 

Bill Gay, chairman and chief executive officer, commented, "Our fiscal 2012 annual net sales reached $200 million.  Fiscal 2012 net sales growth of 6.5% resulted primarily from acquisitions and increased branded domestic sales.  Net sales from our international markets continued to be soft throughout the year.  Adjusted EBITDA grew to over $35 million for the fiscal year.  Substantial progress has been made in maximizing utilization of our manufacturing facilities but we believe that more synergies are possible in fiscal 2013. We will continue to focus on raw material cost savings, labor expense management and consolidating our marketing and sales infrastructure."

Mr. Gay stated, "The Health and Natural Foods Markets that we serve appear to remain strong with ongoing expansions at many chain stores in spite of challenges in other retail segments and in national and international markets.  We will continue to make acquisitions that complement our current brands and product offerings.  All in all, we believe it was a very good year when one considers that we were confronted by increasingly difficult economic headwinds. We remain optimistic but cautious as we approach next year.  Our investors, management and employees are very much appreciated."

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™, Granola's™, Nature's Discount™ and Warehouse Vitamins™.

We manufacture and/or distribute one of the broadest branded product lines in the industry with over 7,000 SKUs, including approximately 900 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).

© 2012 Nutraceutical Corporation.  All rights reserved.

SOURCE Nutraceutical International Corporation