The Utah marketer, distributor, retailer and manufacturer of branded nutritional supplements reported net sales for the first quarter of 2005 of $35.3 million - slightly up on $33.2 million for the same quarter of last year.
However rising operating expenses, in particular those devoted to selling, general and administrative purposes, resulted in a fall in net income from $3.2 million or $0.27 diluted earnings per share for 1Q 2004 to $2.8 million, or $0.24 diluted in 2005.
"Our overall results for the first quarter were in line with management's objectives," said chairman and CEO Bill Gay, "although we continue to believe that we can do better."
Throughout 2005 and beyond the company will be looking to make operational economies, which it believes will come about through further integration of its recent acquisitions.
In June 2004 the Utah corporation acquired the Montana Big Sky brand of bee-derived nutritional supplements from Montana Naturals for $600,000 cash. Earlier in the year it bought Colorado health food manufacturer and marketer Natural Balance.
In 2003 it acquired Nature's Life for a total of $15 million.
For full fiscal 2004 the company reported net income of $13.5 million - up on $12.6 million in 2003. When these results were posted in December, Gay said: "Operational synergies from an acquisition, if achieved, typically take between six months and two years."
Despite the cost-cutting exercise, Gay stated that the company is set for further growth in the long term - both internally driven and through more acquisitions.
When this will happen, however, is not yet clear. "The timing of acquisitions is generally determined both by availability and by our internal assessment of fit to our core business strategy. We tend to be patient and selective," said Gay in December.