Nu Skin’s (NUS—NYSE) regulatory review earlier this year in Greater China has had a significant impact on the company’s 2014 fourth-quarter and year-end results that posted Thursday. In response to the revenue drop in the company’s largest market to $213 million in Q4 from $482 million in the prior-year period, Nu Skin’s overall profit fell almost 63 percent for the quarter to $46.5 million, or 77 cents per share.
Despite the year-long decline in the region, according to President and CEO Truman Hunt, revenue began to stabilize there earlier in the year and has continued. Results were also negatively impacted by the strengthening of the U.S. dollar bringing revenue down by more than $100 million in 2014, and by $24 million consecutively from the third to the fourth quarter.
“Our business performed as we expected for the quarter, and we look forward to a solid 2015,” said Hunt. “…Despite the 2014 revenue decline, our three-year compounded annual revenue growth rate was 14 percent, reflecting longer-term business improvement.”
Total revenue for the quarter was $609.6 million, at the high end of the company’s guidance, compared to $1.06 billion in the prior-year period, but Hunt references the $550 million TR90 launch, the company’s largest product introduction, in the second half of 2013 for the uneven year-over-year comparison.
Nu Skin reported profit of $189.2 million, or $3.11 per share, for the year with revenue of $2.57 billion, compared to $3.18 billion the previous year.
The company’s outlook includes revenue in the range of $530 million to $550 million for the quarter, and full-year earnings of $3.80 to $4.00 per share, with revenue ranging from $2.5 billion to $2.56 billion.
The company announced an increase of its the quarterly cash dividend to 35 cents from the previous dividend of 34.5 cents per share, payable on March 18, 2015.
