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Relìv Hits Billion Dollar Mark
Avon Products Expects Lower Earnings
Natural Health Trends: Sales Up 182%
VMdirect Reports Revenue Increase
September Stock Watch

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Relìv Hits Billion Dollar Mark

Relìv International, Inc. (REL -Nasdaq NM), an international manufacturer and network marketer of nutritional supplements and other food technology products, announced today that it surpassed a sales milestone this month-when it recorded a cumulative total of $1 billion in sales at suggested retail since the company's inception in 1988.

"The billion-dollar mark is a notable achievement," said Robert L. Montgomery, President and Chief Executive Officer at Relìv. "It proves that Relìv has the staying power to keep growing after nearly 17 years in business -and that alone sets us apart from many competitors in the network marketing industry.

"More importantly," Mr. Montgomery said, "a billion dollars in retail sales represents substantial progress toward the company's mission of 'Nourishing Our World.' It means that over the company's history, our products have provided a year's worth of basic nutrition to nearly 1.4 million people across the globe."

Mr. Montgomery noted that Relìv reported net sales of $57.5 million for the first six months of 2005, a performance that puts the company on track toward its first-ever $100 million revenue year. "Our continued growth is a tribute both to Relìv's outstanding line of advanced nutrition products, and to the energy and enthusiasm of our global network of independent distributors," he said.

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Avon Products Expects
Lower Earnings

Avon Products, Inc. (AVP-NYSE) announced that it is revising its full-year 2005 earnings forecast downward from previous expectations of $2.03 to $2.08 per share. The company said that it now expects full-year earnings, including previously announced tax benefits of $.18 per share, to be up low-to-mid single digits compared with prior-year earnings of $1.77 per share, which included tax benefits of $.05 per share. Full-year revenues are expected to increase mid-single digits (up slightly in local currencies), and full-year operating profit is anticipated to be flat to down somewhat.

Avon attributed the expected shortfall to general weakness across each of its four regions, with continued sales shortfall in China; slower than expected improvement in Central and Eastern Europe, including Russia; and deceleration in Latin America. In addition, the company anticipates an impact on its U.S. business from Hurricane Katrina and from the effects of higher fuel costs on its Representatives and their customers. The company noted that its guidance does not include the cost of any steps that it might take during the balance of the year to reduce its enterprise expense base.

As previously announced, Avon will release its third-quarter results and host a conference call with senior management on Friday, October 28, 2005. In addition, Avon will hold its annual investor conference on Thursday, November 10, 2005, at which time it will discuss long-term plans and actions to improve performance.

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VMdirect Reports
Revenue Increase

Las Vegas-based company, VMdirect, reported a dramatic increase in revenue over the summer months, generally a slower time for network marketing companies.

Since January 2005, VMdirect, the proprietary owner of the streaming video service helloWorld, has witnessed growth over 230 percent. Marketing Director Rodney James reported the company saw record-breaking months, each month, from May to August. This yielded a 38 percent increase between first and second quarter and James projects a 97 percent increase from second to third quarter, despite possible economic affects from Hurricane Katrina.

Customers around the world are using the company's products in their businesses and personal lives and March's launch of VMdirect's Version 4 streaming video products has fueled the company's rapid expansion. VMdirect also attributes its growth to helloWorld's simplicity, the right timing in the marketplace, a rich compensation plan and its highly responsive technical support.

VMdirect President and Founder Amy Black stated the products' ease of use coupled with the growing trend toward video in online communications is driving consumer interest, while the attractive compensation plan and 24-hour technical support is garnering tremendous buzz in the network-marketing and technological industries.

"Network marketers are always communicating," Black said. "Our growth, during what is usually a downtime for network marketing companies, is a testament that we are meeting consumer demand for easy-to-use streaming video products and our rich compensation plan is exceeding the expectations of network marketers worldwide."

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