Although USANA Health Sciences (NYSE: USNA) posted fairly weak numbers for 2nd quarter, along with much of the rest of the world, the global manufacturer of nutritional and personal care products turned its numbers around in significant ways for Q3.
During the live webcast presentation for the 3rd quarter earnings report, CEO and Board Chairman Kevin Guest shared the news that the quarter wasn’t just strong for USANA, but saw increased net sales of 14.5 percent from this point in 2019. This works out to be net sales of $298.5 million at the end of September 2020, up from $260.5 million at the end of September 2019.
“This was an all-around very successful quarter for the Company,” Guest said. “During the quarter, our strategies led to strong global customer demand for our high-quality nutritional products. We also offered various incentives and promotions that were well received and contributed meaningfully to sales and customer growth for the quarter.”
Other good news followed:
- The company saw a 16.5% increase in active customers from last year, reaching a record 650,000. This is also a 15.4% increase from customers in the second quarter.
- It saw a rise in diluted Earnings Per Share of 32.1%, reaching a record $1.44/share price.
- There was growth in overall 2020 net sales along with encouraging Earnings Per Share outlooks for 4Q and 2021.
Guest and others credited much of the company’s current success in 2020 to the great effort by USANA Health Sciences staff driving worldwide demand for its nutritional products. This includes a substantial increase in customers from China, but growing interest from other countries helped as well.
This support included a variety of incentive programs available through 2020 which encouraged Associates to connect well with new and existing customers.
“As we see things ramp up and the future growth as it relates to China, for me, we see China still has a strong, strong business,” he said. “The upside for me was the growth that we saw in the rest of the markets outside of China and we’re seeing strong effect in our markets as we are experiencing these crazy times of COVID.”
Besides the increased support from customers in mainland China, interest grew in other regions. Net sales in the total Asia-Pacific region increased by 15.7 percent to $241.3 million over the prior-year quarter. Total net sales in Europe and the Americas grew to $57.2 million, up 10 percent over the prior-year quarter.
Good Response to Virtual Meetings
Some of the credit for the successful turn-around was also given to the company and its Associates who were able to adapt well to the changing market and uncertain global conditions.
One significant shift was the need to cancel many popular customer meetings in different countries and instead host them as a variety of virtual gatherings. This included the traditional annual Conventions for audiences in the Americans and Europe, plus the National Sales Meeting in China.
Virtual meetings still served the same purpose: product information was still able to be shared, questions could still be answered, and successful networking/business development efforts were still able to take place.
Hosting more virtual meetings in different parts of the world also had unexpected benefits. One was that they could bring together a greater number of interested customers who may have wanted to attend gatherings in the past but may have had geographic challenges attending. They could now tune in easily from their own computers.
“This virtual platform allowed us to reach a larger audience than our in-person-only events while maintaining much of the camaraderie and culture of USANA,” Guest said.
It still remains to be seen whether virtual conventions in 2021 or in-person gatherings will resume. Guest said it’s probable to expect virtual for at least the first half of the year, since it would be difficult to put an in-person one together so quickly especially with current health concerns.
Breaking Down Numbers
Performances were solid in the different regions of the world served by USANA. Asia Pacific saw sales of $241.3 million, up 15.7% from the prior year quarter. This market also represented 80.8 percent of all consolidated net sales, and 502,000 customers, a 15.4% increase from the prior-year quarter.
Within this region included:
- Greater China, which saw $136.0 million in sales alone, a 3.9% increase from the prior-year quarter, and a 2.7% gain in constant currency net sales. It also included 284,000 customers, a 4.0% increase from the prior year quarter.
- North Asia, which saw sales of $29.0 million, had a 24.3% increase from prior-year quarter and 23.7% increase in constant currency net sales. This region also has 60,000 active customers, a 20.0% increase.
- Southeast Asia Pacific, which posted $76.3 million, experienced a rise of 40.5% from the prior-year quarter and an increase of 36.7% in constant currency net sales. It included 158,000 customers, an impressive 40.5% from the prior-year quarter.
The America European region generated $57.2 million, a 10.0 % increase from the prior-year quarter. It represents 148,000 customers, a 20.3% increase from the prior-year quarter, and represents 19.2% of consolidated net sales.
Future Outlook
The earnings report ended with optimism for 2021, starting with $278.4 million in assets plus no debt. There are also no plans to buy back common USANA stock shares.
Chief Financial Officer Doug Hekking said the company plans to raise its EPS guidance to $5.15-$5.45, up from the previous range of $4.70-$5.25. It is also revising its range for consolidated net sales from $1.05B-$1.10 B to $1.090B-$1.115B.
“While we don’t have incentive offerings of a similar magnitude scheduled for the fourth quarter, we expect the business to produce solid results and carry momentum into 2021,” he said. “Going forward, we continue to focus our efforts on balancing the need for financial flexibility with continued investments in opportunities that allow us to execute our long-term growth strategies.”
About USANA
USANA (NYSE: USNA) is known for creating a variety of high-quality nutritional products. Customers can either buy them through an independent USANA Associate or through USANA. Its global presence includes locations in Japan, Hong Kong, China, Seoul, the Philippines, Paris and more. To learn more about the company, its products, or how to contact an Associate in your area to place an order, visit https://www.usana.com.
short url:
