PROVO, Utah—Nu Skin Enterprises Inc., a direct seller of personal-care products and nutritional supplements, said Thursday its first-quarter profit jumped 29 percent on strong sales growth across most regions.
For the three months ended March 31, the company reported income of $13.5 million, or 21 cents per share, compared with $10.5 million, or 16 cents per share, in the year-ago period.
The 2008 results were negatively impacted by 5 cents per share due to the weak dollar versus the Japanese yen, the company said.
Analysts polled by Thomson Financial, on average, estimated earnings of 24 cents per share on sales of $285.6 million.
Revenue rose 9 percent to $298.1 million from $273.6 million in the first quarter of 2007.
Revenue was boosted primarily by foreign currency fluctuations, the company said.
Nu Skin said strong results in South Korea, the U.S., Europe, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia offset a decline in Japan.
Sales from the Americas segment grew 19 percent to $50.4 million, while European revenue gained 23 percent to $22.8 million on strong growth in Eastern Europe. North Asia revenue increased 7 percent to $149.4 million.
