USANA Health Sciences, Inc. reported a 5% increase in net sales in fiscal year 2021, reaching $1.186 billion. Diluted EPS was slightly down (-2%) from the previous year and totaled $5.73. During this fiscal period, active customers dipped 7% from fiscal 2020, to total 560,000 people.
“USANA delivered year-over-year net sales growth for 2021, despite a challenging year-over-year comparable and a global operating environment that disrupted many of our growth initiatives and planned events,” said Kevin Guest, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board. “Importantly, we made meaningful progress during the year in executing our digital transformation strategy, which is key to improving our overall customer experience and setting the stage for future net sales growth.”
Fourth quarter 2021 financial performance had a steeper decline, with a 14% decrease in net sales compared to the prior year’s quarter, totaling $267.3 million, and a 45% decrease from the prior year’s quarter in diluted EPS. Diluted shares of 19.7 million were down 7%.
“Fourth quarter net sales came in below our expectations as our business was negatively impacted in several key Asia Pacific markets where COVID-19 restrictions persisted throughout the quarter,” Guest said. “Additionally, lower gross margin and the unanticipated timing of certain marketing expenses resulted in lower-than-expected diluted earnings per share. We estimate that these collective events negatively impacted diluted earnings per share by $0.18.”
Asia Pacific continues to be the company’s strongest market region, bringing in $212.1 million in net sales and hosting 428,00 active customers. Within this region, Greater China remains the leader.
The company ended the year with a strong balance sheet and $240 million in cash and cash equivalents on hand and no debt. Forecasts for fiscal year 2022 estimate consolidated net sales in the region of $1.125 and $1.225 billion, with a diluted EPS of $5.25-$6.
“Growth in active customers and net sales in each of our regions around the world remain top priorities in 2022,” Guest said. “This focus reflects our commitment to all stakeholders and to our vision of improving the health and wellness of as many people around the world as possible. Fiscal 2022 is also USANA’s 30th year anniversary, and we have several exciting events, product launches, and announcements planned to celebrate our legacy and drive growth. In connection with our anniversary, we hope to return to live events in markets where we are permitted to do so. We believe that live events are both important and additive to driving excitement and momentum within our sales force. During the year, we will continue investing in technology and digital tools to further improve our overall customer experience. We will continue to lay the foundations for expansion into new markets and pursue accretive business development opportunities. We look forward to growing the number of individuals and families using our products and to delivering growth for USANA in 2022.”
