Sales & Earnings In Brief

Herbalife sales hit by currency exchange: Fourth-quarter net sales grow 23 percent to $630.9 million, though the effects of foreign currency fluctuation trim Herbalife's full-year sales 1.5 percent to $2.32 billion. The multilevel marketer of nutritional and weight-management products reported dramatic quarterly gains in net sales in the Asia Pacific region - up 56.2 percent to $151.5 million - and in South and Central America - up 34 percent to $113.2 million. Sales were flat or down in Mexico - affected by a value-added tax and distribution challenges - and in China, where sales leaders still are implementing the daily consumption model, Herbalife executives said Feb. 24. The Los Angeles firm said net income for the October-December period jumped 65.4 percent to $55.7 million, but dipped 8.1 percent to $203.3 million for the full year. Herbalife introduced more than 60 new or reformulated products across 72 countries during the year, CEO Michael Johnson said. The company projects net sales growth of 12.5 percent to 13.5 percent for its fiscal 2010 first quarter, and growth between 8.5 percent and 9.5 percent for the year