Herbalife’s Profit Falls

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Herbalife Ltd. late Monday said its second quarter net income fell 28 percent due to slower sales of its nutritional supplements, higher taxes and unfavorable currency fluctuations.

After the markets closed, the Los Angeles network marketing company reported net income fell to $48.3 million (77 cents per share), compared with $67.1 million ($1.01) a year ago. Sales fell 11 percent to less than $572 million.

Excluding one-time items, adjusted earnings were 78 cents per share. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected adjusted earnings of 72 cents on revenue of more than $549 million.

Chief Executive Officer Michael Johnson noted that the company saw sequential growth from the first quarter in key markets such as the U.S., which was up 7.7 percent; Mexico up 3.2 percent; and China, up 57.5 percent.

“This volume point improvement is a reflection of the outstanding effort of our independent distributors to grow their businesses and the resilience of our business model,” said Johnson in a statement.

The company provided new full-year guidance, narrowing the range for earnings to between $2.97 and $3.03 per share, compared to an earlier range of $2.90 to $3.10. It expects net sales to fall up to 5 percent from 2008.

The company’s board of directors approved a quarterly cash dividend of 20 cents per share payable on Sept. 10, to shareholders of record on Aug. 28.

Before the announcement, Herbalife shares closed up $1.36, or 4 percent, to $35.77 on the New York Stock Exchange. It fell 12 percent in after-market trading.

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