Nu Skin Chief Executive Truman Hunt said a sequential growth in the number of sales leaders, including in Mainland China, was an encouraging development.

Josh Long, Associate editorial director, Natural Products Insider

August 7, 2015

2 Min Read
In Q2, Nu Skin Sees Rays of Light in China

Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc., the multi-level marketer of personal care products and nutritional supplements, reported second-quarter revenues that were weighed down by changes in foreign currency, but the company reported positive developments in Greater China, its largest market.

Revenues of US$560.2 million were down 14 percent from $650 million in the prior-year period, though Nu Skin said foreign currency fluctuations negatively impacted revenues by 7 percent. Net income rose to $44.7 million from $19.5 million in the year-ago period.

In Greater China—a region comprising Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan—revenues declined 13 percent to $200.1 million from $229.9 million in the second quarter of 2014. But the results in the region represented an improvement from first-quarter revenues ($187.4 million).

Revelations early last year that Nu Skin was under investigation by the Chinese government led to a slowdown in the company’s sales growth. The Chinese government ultimately fined Nu Skin $524,000 for selling products that were not registered for the direct selling channel.

“We are pleased the business performed at the high end of our expectations for the second quarter," Nu Skin Chief Executive Truman Hunt said in a press release. “Additionally, we are encouraged by growth in the number of sales leaders sequentially, including a 19-percent increase in sales leaders in Mainland China. We believe that this trend signals growing sales leader energy as we build toward the introduction of our new ageLOC [anti-aging] products in the second half of the year."

Provo, Utah-based Nu Skin suffered its largest sales decline in EMEA, its smallest market, where revenues were down 32 percent to $35.6 million. In the Americas, revenues declined just 7 percent to $83.5 million. Revenues in North Asia, Nu Skin’s second-largest market, decreased 12 percent to $172.9 million, while revenues in South Asia/Pacific fell 17 percent to $68 million.

Earlier this year, Nu Skin revealed that the Securities and Exchange Commission was investigating certain aspects of its operations in China in connection with a 2013 charitable donation that the company made. A Nu Skin spokesperson did not immediately respond Friday to a request for comment on the status of the investigation. The SEC declined to comment.

About the Author(s)

Josh Long

Associate editorial director, Natural Products Insider, Informa Markets Health and Nutrition

Josh Long directs the online news, feature and op-ed coverage at Natural Products Insider, which targets the health and wellness industry. He has been reporting on developments in the dietary supplement industry for over a decade, with a focus on regulatory issues, including at the Food and Drug Administration.

He has moderated and/or presented at industry trade shows, including SupplySide East, SupplySide West, Natural Products Expo West, NBJ Summit and the annual Dietary Supplement Regulatory Summit.

Connect with Josh on LinkedIn and ping him with story ideas at [email protected]

Education and previous experience

Josh majored in journalism and graduated from Arizona State University the same year "Jake the Snake" Plummer led the Sun Devils to the Rose Bowl against the Ohio State Buckeyes. He also holds a J.D. from the University of Wyoming College of Law, was admitted in 2008 to practice law in the state of Colorado and spent a year clerking for a state district court judge.

Over more than a quarter century, he’s written on various topics for newspapers and business-to-business publications – from the Yavapai in Arizona and a controversial plan for a nuclear-waste incinerator in Idaho to nuanced issues, including FDA enforcement of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA).

Since the late 1990s, his articles have been published in a variety of media, including but not limited to, the Cape Cod Times (in Massachusetts), Sedona Red Rock News (in Arizona), Denver Post (in Colorado), Casper Star-Tribune (in Wyoming), now-defunct Jackson Hole Guide (in Wyoming), Colorado Lawyer (published by the Colorado Bar Association) and Nutrition Business Journal.

Subscribe and receive the latest insights on the health and nutrition industry.
Join 37,000+ members. Yes, it's completely free.

You May Also Like