IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 16, 2001--Naturade Inc. (OTCBB:NRDC), a leading marketer of soy protein products under the brand name Naturade Total Soy(TM) (NTS), today reported net sales of $4,408,800 for the three months ended June 30, 2001, an increase of 20% over the same period in 2000, and net sales of $8,669,700 for the six months ended June 30, 2001, an increase of 23% over the same period in 2000.
This was primarily the result of continued growth in the mass market with expanded sales of the NTS products, offset in part by a slowing of the health food channel.
The company continued to expand distribution of its Naturade Total Soy ready-to-drink product, which represented 17% of second-quarter sales and penetrated deeper into its mass market account base by increasing shipments to Kroger, Target, Safeway and Shopko.
Naturade's gross profit increased approximately 15% to $2,081,200 (or 47.2% of net sales) in the second quarter of 2001 from $1,808,900 (or 49.3% of net sales) in the second quarter of 2000. However, the company did report an operating loss of $592,049 for the just-ended quarter and $1,085,714 for the six-month period in 2001, compared to operating losses of $356,686 and $806,946, respectively, in 2000.
A major portion of this operating loss increase is due to additional brand expenses such as trade promotions and advertising that were incurred to support the mass market distribution of Naturade Total Soy products such as ready-to-drink.
According to Naturade CEO Bill Stewart, "The health food channel has slowed, but we are addressing the situation in a number of ways, including developing high-value consumer offers such as coupons and other promotional considerations."
During the quarter, Naturade continued its rollout of NTS products, which contributed $1,767,522, or 40% of net sales, and with that came increased selling, general and administrative expenses, largely due to brand expenses.
"These brand expenses," explained Stewart, "are part of our strategy to promote the expanded Naturade Total Soy product line under an umbrella concept of brand advertising in order to support our increased mass market distribution." |
