Herbalife shaking off pandemic hangover with good momentum, execs say
The multi level marketing giant, the world’s largest MLM devoted solely to the sale of nutritional products, reported its second quarter fiscal 2022 financial results this week. The company recorded $1.4 billion in revenue during the quarter, which represented a 10.3% decline over the same period last year.
But Herbalife CFO Alexander Amezquita said 2020 and 2021 were distorted by the huge uptick in pandemic-related demand, which he said was unsustainable. When look through a lens with a longer focal point, the company is doing well, he said.
“The $5.8 billion of net sales we achieved in 2021 was just under 20% growth from 2019. We are still netting approximately 11% growth going from the prepandemic era to the midpoint of our 2022 guidance,” he said.
Amezquita made his remarks as part of an earnings call with stock analysts. A transcript of the call was posted on the site seekingalpha.com.
Shift to sports nutrition
In response to a question from an analysts, Herbalife president John DeSimone said the company’s focus is starting to shift away from weight management. New customers are seeking sports nutrition and general wellness products, with fewer seeking to lose weight as a primary reason for engaging with the company’s products. While sports nutrition is still a small slice of the pie, it's growing faster than other categories, he said.
“Weight management is the biggest part of our portfolio, but we are seeing a shift,” DeSimone said.
“People who typically would have gone after what we would traditionally call a weight management product, a high-protein, low-calorie product, for example, are increasingly going to sports nutrition solutions as an alternative there. Whether it's a part of their fitness environment or their lifestyle, they're looking for products that are designated as sports nutrition products. The line is blurring between the two categories,” said Herbalife CEO John Agwunobi.
