Natures Sunshine Reports Layoffs

Natures Sunshine Reports Layoffs

PROVO, UtahNaturesSunshine Products Inc. (NASDAQ:NATR) reported Oct. 3 that for its third quarter(3Q03), ended Sept. 30, it expects to report a net loss as a result of cuttingprograms and employee positions. Over the course of the quarter, 50 employeesholding both domestic and international positions were laid off, whichrepresented 5 percent of the companys work force.

The company also expects to report a net loss of approximately$.02 to $.04 per common share after taking these measures to streamlineoperations and improve efficiencies. Natures Sunshine predicts these actionswill save the company between $7 million and $9 million per year.

This is not the first time the company has announceddownsizing. For its fiscal 2002 (FY02), ended Dec. 31 and reported Feb. 18, thecompany reduced its work force by 7 percent during the course of the year. Thecompany also reported a 6-percent decrease in yearly sales, going from $318.7million in FY01 to $298.7 million in FY02. At the time, Daniel Howells, chiefexecutive officer and president, stated, While the earnings decline wasclearly disappointing ... new marketing programs and products introduced at ourconvention in September [2002] are clearly benefiting domestic results, whichcurrently represent almost 60 percent of our business.

The company expected to release its 3Q03 financial report inlate October.