Bohemia, NY-based Nature’s Bounty (NYSE: NTY) which mails the Puritan’s Pride catalog, reported a scant increase sales while its bottom line slipped nearly 50% due to aggressive pricing in its direct-to-customer division.
For the quarter ended March 31, total NBTY sales were $443 million, up slightly from $440 million last year. Web sales accounted for 28% of total company revenue. Revenue from Puritan’s Pride unit dropped 19% to $57 million from $71 million for the comparable prior period. Net income for the quarter fell 49% to $21 million, compared to $41 million last year.
Looking at NBTY’s other segments for the fiscal second quarter of 2005, its North American Retail/Vitamin World division sales remain unchanged from the like period last year at $56 million. The division posted negative earnings before income, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA)—a loss of $3 million, compared to a positive EBITDA of $4 million for the period in 2004. Same store sales fell 5%.
NBTY’s European retail sales for the fiscal second quarter increased 19% to $147 million from $123 million for the fiscal second quarter a year ago. Same store sales were up 15%, 12% in local currency.