Herbalife Ltd. reported declines in second-quarter revenue and
earnings, hurt in part by the stronger dollar, but shares surged in
after-hours trading as results still surpassed expectations and the
nutritional-products company raised its outlook for the year.
The company now expects full-year 2015 per-share earnings of
$4.50 to $4.70, compared with its previous estimate of $4.30 to
$4.60.
Shares rose 6.9% to $52.50 in after-hours trading.
Herbalife, based in the Cayman Islands, sells a range of
products, including weight-loss shakes and fitness supplements,
operating through a global network of independent distributors.
The company has been embroiled in a public battle with Pershing
Square Capital Management LP's William Ackman, who has attempted to
convince other investors that Herbalife is a pyramid scheme,
accusations the company has denied. The company's shares have been
volatile since Mr. Ackman first disclosed a billion-dollar bet
against the company in December 2012.
In the latest quarter, volume fell in all regions except China
and EMEA, where volumes increased 38% and 4%, respectively.
World-wide volume fell 5%.
Overall, the company reported earnings of $82.8 million, or 97
cents a share, compared with year-earlier earnings of $119.5
million, or $1.31 a share. Excluding items, per-share earnings fell
to $1.24 from $1.55 a year earlier.
Sales dropped 11.5% to $1.16 billion, hurt in part by the
stronger U.S. dollar.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected $1.11 a share on
$1.14 billion in revenue.
Write to Neil Haggerty at neil.haggerty@wsj.com
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