PARK CITY, Utah, April 30, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Nutraceutical International Corporation (NASDAQ: NUTR) today reported results for the fiscal 2015 second quarter ended March 31, 2015. Net sales for the fiscal 2015 second quarter were $55.4 million compared to $54.9 million for the same quarter of fiscal 2014. For the second quarter of fiscal 2015, net income was $4.1 million, or $0.43 diluted earnings per share, compared to net income of $4.3 million, or $0.44 diluted earnings per share, for the same quarter of fiscal 2014.

Net sales for the six months ended March 31, 2015 were $108.4 million compared to $106.4 million for the same period of fiscal 2014. For the six months ended March 31, 2015, net income was $7.4 million, or $0.77 diluted earnings per share, compared to net income of $8.5 million, or $0.86 diluted earnings per share, for the same period of fiscal 2014.

Operating cash flow for the six months ended March 31, 2015 was $11.2 million compared to $10.8 million for the same period of fiscal 2014. The operating cash flow for the six months ended March 31, 2015, combined with existing cash, was primarily used to invest $4.2 million in purchases of property, plant and equipment, $2.4 million in purchases of common stock for treasury and to repay net borrowings of $5.0 million on the Company's revolving credit facility.

Bill Gay, chairman and chief executive officer, commented, "Our overall results for the second quarter of 2015 were an improvement over our first quarter results. Fiscal 2015 second quarter net sales growth of 1.0% was primarily the result of fiscal 2014 acquisitions and a slight increase in domestic sales. Unfortunately, international sales were impacted negatively by a stronger U.S. dollar and decreased orders from international customers. Out-of-stocks continue to be a key priority for management. We continue to focus on integrating the fiscal 2014 acquisitions and believe these efforts, along with other operational enhancements we have made, will lead to further improvements in our business by the latter part of calendar 2015."

Mr. Gay stated, "Operating cash flow and Adjusted EBITDA remained strong for the second quarter. This provided the financial resources for us to continue to re-purchase stock and pay down debt. The decrease in fiscal 2015 second quarter net income was primarily a result of increased depreciation and amortization expense. Throughout this fiscal year, we have invested considerable time and financial resources conducting due diligence on potential acquisitions. The larger opportunities pursued so far this year did not provide the synergies we require. Fortunately, the market continues to provide additional potential acquisitions to evaluate. In reviewing these, we intend to remain selective. Acquisitions are a primary long-term component of our growth and we do not anticipate this changing."

Mr. Gay continued, "We compete in the fragmented healthy foods channel. This channel is comprised of over 17,000 retail stores, many operating independently. We offer over 8,000 SKUs to our customers - and no product or customer represents over ten percent of our sales. We rely on numerous long-term customer relationships that grow with us as we add brands and new products. Our business strategy and operational model is complex, which is both a challenge and opportunity. Focusing on this opportunity has served our stakeholders for many years. Management appreciates everyone that enables us to focus on growing our business over the long term."

ABOUT NUTRACEUTICAL
We are an integrated manufacturer, marketer, distributor and retailer of branded nutritional supplements and other natural products sold primarily to and through domestic health and natural food stores. Internationally, we market and distribute branded nutritional supplements and other natural products to and through health and natural product distributors and retailers. Our core business strategy is to acquire, integrate and operate businesses in the natural products industry that manufacture, market and distribute branded nutritional supplements. We believe that the consolidation and integration of these acquired businesses provide ongoing financial synergies through increased scale and market penetration, as well as strengthened customer relationships.

We manufacture and sell nutritional supplements and other natural products under numerous brands, including Solaray®, KAL®, Nature's Life®, LifeTime®, Natural Balance®, NaturalCare®, Health from the Sun®, Pioneer®, Nutra BioGenesis(TM), Life-flo®, Organix South®, Heritage Store® and Monarch Nutraceuticals(TM).

We own neighborhood natural food markets, which operate under the trade names The Real Food Company(TM), Thom's Natural Foods(TM) and Cornucopia Community Market(TM). We also own health food stores, which operate under various trade names, including Fresh Vitamins(TM), Granola's(TM) and Peachtree Natural Foods®.

We manufacture and/or distribute one of the broadest branded product lines in the industry with over 8,000 SKUs, including approximately 800 SKUs exclusively sold internationally. We believe that as a result of our emphasis on innovation, quality, loyalty, education and customer service, our brands are widely recognized in health and natural food stores and among their customers.

This Press Release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 with respect to our financial condition, results of operations and business. These forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of terms such as "believe," "expects," "plan," "intend," "may," "will," "should," "can," or "anticipates," or the negative thereof, or variations thereon, or comparable terminology, or by discussions of strategy. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause industry trends or our actual results to be materially different from any future results expressed or implied by these statements. Important factors that may cause our results to differ from these forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: (i) changes in or new government regulations or increased enforcement of the same; (ii) unavailability of desirable acquisitions, inability to complete them or inability to integrate them; (iii) increased costs, including from increased raw material or energy prices; (iv) changes in general worldwide economic or political conditions; (v) adverse publicity or negative consumer perception regarding nutritional supplements; (vi) issues with obtaining raw materials of adequate quality or quantity; (vii) litigation and claims, including product liability, intellectual property and other types; (viii) disruptions from or following acquisitions including the loss of customers; (ix) increased competition; (x) slow or negative growth in the nutritional supplement industry or the healthy foods channel; (xi) the loss of key personnel or the inability to manage our operations efficiently; (xii) problems with information management systems, manufacturing efficiencies and operations; (xiii) insurance coverage issues; (xiv) the volatility of the stock market generally and of our stock specifically; (xv) increases in the cost of borrowings or unavailability of additional debt or equity capital, or both, or fluctuations in foreign currencies; and (xvi) interruption of business or negative impact on sales and earnings due to acts of God, acts of war, terrorism, bio-terrorism, civil unrest and other factors outside of our control. Copies of our SEC reports are available upon request from our investor relations department or may be obtained at the SEC's website (www.sec.gov).

                                NUTRACEUTICAL INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION

                                CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

                                (unaudited; dollars in thousands)


                                                                                   
    September 30,
                                              March 31,
                                              ---------
                                                                              2015                       2014

    Assets

         Current assets, net                                            $82,965                    $83,850

         Property, plant and equipment,
          net                                                            78,673                     79,244

         Goodwill                                                        23,622                     23,622

         Other non-current assets, net                                   26,953                     28,062
                                                                         ------                     ------
                                               $212,213                                   $214,778
                                               --------                                   --------


    Liabilities and Stockholders'
     Equity

         Current liabilities                                            $19,105                    $21,709

         Long-term liabilities                                           38,162                     43,456

         Stockholders' equity                                           154,946                    149,613
                                                                        -------                    -------
                                                                          $212,213                   $214,778
                                                                          --------                   --------



                                                          NUTRACEUTICAL INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION

                                                      CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

                                                  (unaudited; dollars in thousands, except per share data)



                                                                                              Three months ended March 31,            Six months ended March 31,
                                                                                              ----------------------------            --------------------------

                                                                                                      2015                    2014                    2015          2014

    Net sales                                                              $55,404                    $54,859                $108,448                $106,409

    Cost of sales                                                                                  28,149                  27,699                  55,338        53,187
                                                                                                   ------                  ------                  ------        ------

                                               Gross profit                                           27,255                  27,160                  53,110        53,222

    Operating expenses

                                               Selling, general and administrative                    19,789                  19,282                  39,343        37,863

                                               Amortization of intangible assets                         728                     652                   1,460         1,236


    Income from operations                                                                          6,738                   7,226                  12,307        14,123

    Interest and other expense, net                                                                   273                     350                     570           668
                                                                                                      ---                     ---                     ---           ---

    Income before provision for income
     taxes                                                                                          6,465                   6,876                  11,737        13,455

    Provision for income taxes                                                                      2,369                   2,552                   4,290         4,996
                                                                                                    -----                   -----                   -----         -----


    Net income                                                              $4,096                     $4,324                  $7,447                  $8,459
                                                                            ------                     ------                  ------                  ------



    Net income per common share

                                               Basic                                                   $0.43                   $0.44                   $0.77         $0.86

                                               Diluted                                                  0.43                    0.44                    0.77          0.86


    Weighted average common shares outstanding

                                               Basic                                               9,622,051               9,843,590               9,637,753     9,840,578

                                               Diluted                                             9,626,925               9,852,611               9,643,637     9,850,102





                                              NUTRACEUTICAL INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION

                                                     ADJUSTED EBITDA SCHEDULE

                                                 (unaudited; dollars in thousands)



                        Three months ended                 Six months ended March
                            March 31,                               31,
                       -------------------                -----------------------

                                         2015                                  2014        2015      2014


    Net income                       $4,096                                $4,324      $7,447    $8,459

    Provision for
     income taxes                     2,369                                 2,552       4,290     4,996

    Interest and other
     expense, net (1)                   273                                   350         570       668

    Depreciation and
     amortization                     3,268                                 2,777       6,507     5,415
                                      -----                                 -----       -----     -----


    Adjusted EBITDA                 $10,006                               $10,003     $18,814   $19,538
                                    -------                               -------     -------   -------




                         Includes
                      amortization
                       of deferred
                         financing
              (1)           fees.


    Non-GAAP Financial Measures

         Adjusted EBITDA (a non-GAAP measure) is
          defined in our performance measures as
          earnings before net interest and other
          expense, taxes, depreciation,
          amortization and goodwill and
          intangible asset impairments.  We
          believe that Adjusted EBITDA provides
          useful additional information to
          analysts, creditors, investment bankers
          and management regarding operating
          performance and debt covenant
          compliance.  Adjusted EBITDA has some
          inherent limitations in measuring
          operating performance due to the
          exclusion of certain financial elements
          such as depreciation and amortization
          and is not necessarily comparable to
          other similarly-titled captions of
          other companies due to potential
          inconsistencies in the method of
          calculation.  Furthermore, Adjusted
          EBITDA is not intended to be an
          alternative to net income in
          determining our operating performance
          in accordance with generally accepted
          accounting principles.

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SOURCE Nutraceutical International Corporation