Aug 3 - Dietary supplement distributor Herbalife Ltd posted lower quarterly results as its sales and gross profit margins were hurt by unfavorable currency fluctuations, and maintained a cautious outlook for 2009, triggering a 11 percent slide in the stock after the bell.
Due to current trends in volume point growth and higher cost of goods in the third quarter, reflecting currency fluctuations over the past several months, the company stays cautious for the year, it said in a statement.
For the full year, the company expects to earn $2.97 a share to $3.03 a share.
Assuming a volume point growth of zero to one percent and a net sales decline of four to six percent compared with a year earlier, Herbalife forecast third-quarter earnings of 66 cents to 69 cents a share.
Analysts on average were expecting earnings of 81 cents a share, before items, according to Reuters Estimates. For the latest second quarter ended June 30, the company earned $48.3 million, or 77 cents a share, compared with $67.1 million, or $1.01 a share, a year ago. Excluding items it earned 78 cents a share.
Revenue fell 10.6 percent to $571.8 million.
Analysts were looking at earnings of 72 cents a share on revenue of $549.7 million.
Shares of the Los Angeles-based company fell to $31.85 in trading after the bell. They closed at $35.77 Monday on the New York Stock Exchange.