Bohemia, NY–Nutritional supplements manufacturer/marketer NBTY reported a 19% sales increase for the quarter ended Sept. 30, to $211 million. Last year, NBTY’s sales exceeded $177 million for the fourth quarter. Net income was $10 million, compared to $13 million last year. Net sales for the fiscal year increased 12%, to $807 million, versus $721 million last year.
Net income dropped 19%, to $42 million, compared with net income of $52 million. Direct response/e-commerce operations for the Puritan’s Pride catalog, decreased 7%, to $44 million. For the fiscal year, sales were $172 million, a decrease of 5.7%. Operations were affected by a backlog of orders not shipped by the end of the fourth quarter due to the Sept. 11 attacks. The recently acquired NatureSmart mail order operation has been fully integrated into the Puritan’s Pride operation.