Nature's Sunshine Sees Losses for 3Q02, Has New Products inPipeline

Nature's Sunshine Sees Losses for 3Q02, Has New Products inPipeline

PROVO, Utah--Nature's Sunshine Products Inc. (NASDAQ:NATR)reported that for its third quarter (3Q02), ended Sept. 30 and announced Oct.22, sales and profits may have been down, but new product lines were expected togive the company a profitable future.

Sales for the quarter slipped to $73.8 million from $77.9million logged in the same period last year. Gross margin remained relativelyflat at around 81.3 percent of sales, as did operating expenses, which were$23.8 million. Net income slipped to $3.5 million, or $.22 per share earned,from $4.2 million, or $.26 per share earned.

The company reported that despite the overall sales decrease,domestic revenue increased 4 percent for the quarter, which included a23-percent gain in sales from the Hispanic market. Also, the introduction of anewly formulated line of 16 natural skin care products under the Natria namehas seen positive results. While the company is still recovering from thefinancial effects of 9/11, new marketing and promotional initiatives added tothe company's net profit. Additionally, Nature's Sunshine reported that U.S.managers increased from 6,200 managers in 3Q01 to 6,600. And as of Sept. 30, thenumber of domestic distributors totaled 225,000 compared to 215,000 for the sameperiod last year.

In the meantime, the company announced that a new line ofproducts still in the pre-marketing stage should benefit the company's futureresults. "We continue to enjoy strong cash flow and have ample cash with nodebt," said Daniel Howells, president and chief executive officer,"which places Nature's Sunshine in an enviable position in the currentmarket environment."

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