Herbalife's fourth-quarter profit dips as sales weighed by strong dollar

Herbalife Ltd. on Thursday reported that its fourth-quarter net income fell 16 percent to $103.3 million as sales slipped.

The George Town, Cayman Islands-based company said it had net income of $1.21 per share, compared with $123.5 million, or $1.15 per share, a year earlier. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring costs, came to $1.41 per share, better than the average analyst estimate of $1.22 per share, according to FactSet.

The seller of supplements and weight-loss products posted revenue of $1.13 billion in the period, down 11 percent year over year. Analysts expected $1.16 billion, on average.

Herbalife attributed the sales decline to the effect of the stronger dollar, which has hit a number of companies with international business. Excluding the impact of currency, sales were flat, Herbalife said.

For the full year, Herbalife posted net income of $308.7 million, or $3.40 per share, on revenue of $4.96 billion.

Looking ahead, the company lowered its full-year adjusted profit outlook, citing the continued impact of currency. It now expects between $4.10 and $4.50 per share. That compares with its prior range of $5.45 to $5.75 per share.

Herbalife shares slipped 32 cents to $34.50 in extended trading. They have dropped almost 8 percent since the beginning of the year and 48 percent over the past 12 months.

The company has been embroiled in an ongoing battle with activist investor Bill Ackman, who runs Pershing Square Capital Management. Ackman has bet heavily against the stock, describing Herbalife as a pyramid scheme, a characterization the company rejects.

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Elements of this story were generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on HLF at http://www.zacks.com/ap/HLF

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Keywords: Herbalife, Earnings Report