NBTY reports Q2 earnings

RONKONKOMA, N.Y. For the fiscal second quarter ended March 31, NBTY recorded net sales of $596 million, an increase of 12%.

The Leiner Health Products business, which was acquired in July 2008, has been fully integrated into NBTY operations; accordingly its sales can no longer be separately identified. Since acquiring Leiner, the company has eliminated in excess of $30 million in annualized non-manufacturing costs.

Net sales for the North American Retail division, comprised of Vitamin World Stores in the United States and LeNaturiste stores in Canada, were $52 million. Vitamin World same-store sales increased 4%, the company reported.

“Vitamin World results seem to indicate that the new modernization of the stores has had a favorable impact on the U.S. stores,” NBTY stated.

Net sales at LeNaturiste decreased 18%, all attributable to a weaker Canadian dollar, and the division operated at a loss of $1 million. LeNaturiste will continue to focus on increasing gross margins by utilizing more in-house manufactured products and more targeted promotions.

During the fiscal second quarter of 2009, the North American Retail division closed 3 stores and added 3 new stores. At the end of the fiscal second quarter of 2009, the North American Retail division operated a total of 531 stores, consisting of 444 Vitamin World stores in the United States and 87 LeNaturiste stores in Canada. Vitamin World plans to add 3 stores and close 5 stores during the remainder of fiscal 2009.