The dividend will be paid on or around May 31 2005 to all holders of record as of May 18. It is the third such payment made by the company under a program that aims to distribute a portion of income to shareholders on a semi-annual basis.
"On the basis of our recent results, we are pleased to declare this dividend," said Reliv president and CEO Robert Montgomery.
The 1Q gains were driven largely by sales growth in excess of 20 percent in the United States. Worldwide sales were up 23 percent to $29.0 million compared with $23.5 million for the prior year period, and expenses also increased 23 percent.
These figures are the first to include sales of the company's new heart health product CardioSentials, which was introduced in February following a clinical study ascertaining its safety and efficacy.
Reliv's first new market entrant in a number of years, CardioSentials was responsible for over a million dollars of net sales its first two months, leading president and CEO Robert Montgomery to dub it "one more tool to fuel our continued growth".
He told a conference call held May 4 to discuss the results that data from the clinical trial supporting the safety and efficacy of the new product has been key to attracting attention in the marketplace.
The company's catalog consists of a total of 13 products spanning the supplements, sports nutrition and functional foods categories.
In the past year it has concentrated on building the presence of these products in more international markets and it now operates in nine countries. Even so, their contribution to Reliv's overall performance was well below that of the US, with a combined 4 percent increase in sales. For full year 2004 the combined international markets reported net sales growth of 18 percent.
The top performers for the most recent quarter were Malaysia and Singapore, where Reliv began trading in February 2004, with sales up 17 percent. They were closely followed by the UK (16 percent), the Philippines (15 percent) and Canada (14 percent).
Growth in these markets was offset by falling sales in two other markets. In January it announced it first entry into mainland Europe, with sales in Germany expected to commence in the fall.
"We are excited about the level of distributor enthusiasm that is generated by this expansion and we are eager to begin operations in what we think is going to be an outstanding market."
Another explanation the company has given for its sustained good fortune its recruitment of growing numbers of distributors. On March 31 2005 it counted 14 percent more active distributors than at the same point last year - 73,060 compared to 64,140 in 2004.
"People can see we have only scratched the surface in developing our market potential," Montgomery told the conference call.
"It is an exciting time to be part of Reliv and the proof is in our financial results."