Natural Health Trends Is Shrinking More Slowly, and in Direct Sales That Counts as Progress

Natural Health Trends reported third-quarter results on Wednesday that amount to a company treading water and calling it a win. Net sales fell 20% year over year to $7.6 million, roughly flat with the prior quarter, while the net loss narrowed to $232,000 from $431,000 a year earlier, an improvement Natural Health Trends attributed partly to new incentives and lower-priced product packages that made it easier for members to buy in, even as those same discounts ate into revenue.

The direct-sales wellness company's Active Member count actually ticked up, to 27,040 from 26,000 in the second quarter, though it remains below the 28,030 members it had a year ago. The company pointed to its 25th-anniversary event in Hong Kong, which drew roughly 1,000 attendees in August, plus follow-up events in three other markets, as evidence the brand still has pull in its core regions.

President Chris Sharng called the environment "challenging" and pointed to "consumer pessimism" in the company's largest market as a drag on spending. The company is also leaning on a newly launched AI-powered marketing app to help reverse the slide, and the board tacked on more buyback authorization for good measure, $15.8 million worth, a modest vote of confidence from a company whose cash balance has fallen by more than a third since the start of the year.

Source: GlobeNewswire

Kyle Duford, Founder & Editor, BRNDWIRE. More from Kyle →