Executives
Management
Mark Nicholls [ph] – Acting Treasurer Robert Sinnott – Co-CEO and Chief Science Officer Stephen Fenstermacher – Co-CEO and CFO
Mannatech, Incorporated (MTEX)
Q4 2010 Earnings Call· Thu, Mar 10, 2011
$4.59
-1.98%
Same-Day
-3.72%
1 Week
-10.64%
1 Month
-13.30%
vs S&P
-15.24%
Executives
Management
Mark Nicholls [ph] – Acting Treasurer Robert Sinnott – Co-CEO and Chief Science Officer Stephen Fenstermacher – Co-CEO and CFO
Operator
Operator
Greetings and welcome to the Mannatech Incorporated fourth quarter 2010 earnings conference call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. A brief question-and-answer session will follow the formal presentation. (Operator instructions) As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. Now, I would like to introduce our moderator for the call today, Mr. Mark Nicholls [ph], Acting Treasurer. Thank you, Mr. Nicholls, you may begin your conference.
Mark Nicholls
Analyst
Thank you. Good morning everyone. This is Mark Nicholls, and welcome to Mannatech’s fourth quarter 2010 earnings call. Today, you will hear from Mannatech's Co-CEOs, Dr. Robert Sinnott and Stephen Fenstermacher. Before we begin the call, I will first read the Safe Harbor statement. During this conference call, we may make forward-looking statements, which can involve future events or future financial performance. Forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of phrases or terminology such as will continue, may, believe, intend, expects, potential, should, and plan or other similar words or the negative of such terminology. We caution listeners that such forward-looking statements are subject to certain events, risks, uncertainties and other factors and speak only as of today. We also refer our listeners to review our SEC submission. Thank you. And now, I will turn the call over to Dr. Robert Sinnott, Co-CEO and Chief Science Officer.
Robert Sinnott
Analyst
Thank you, Mark. Hello, good morning. I am Dr. Rob Sinnott, Co-CEO and Chief Science Officer of Mannatech. We appreciate your interest in our company. I would like to give you a very brief summary of some of the key accomplishments for 2010. Through operating more efficiently and employing targeted expense reductions, Mannatech achieved a positive EBITDA for 2010 on total sales of $228.1 million. Additionally, our cash on hand buildup over the year to $21.6 million by year’s end. During 2010, we repositioned a large portion of the company’s development resources through the launch of Mexico in January 2011. We did this because Mexico was one of the most important international market openings we have ever undertaken. According to the Direct Selling Association, Mexico is the sixth largest direct-selling market in the world. Our expansion in Mexico complements our existing presence in North America, while highlighting our continued focus on global expansion. Also, during the latter part of 2010, we experienced some stabilization and recovery of the company’s recruiting ability. For example, during the fourth quarter of 2010, new independent Associates and Member levels were at 23,196, which was an improvement over third quarter 2010 new Associates and Member levels of 22,296. Finally, we are encouraged by the fact that sales held from third quarter through the fourth quarter of 2010. Both third and fourth quarters had total sales of $54.9 million. Traditionally, sales soften considerably in the fourth quarter due to business seasonality, but that affect did not occur this year. I will now turn the call over to Steve Fenstermacher, Co-CEO and Chief Financial Officer.
Stephen Fenstermacher
Analyst
Thanks Rob and good morning everyone. A retrospective on 2010 for Mannatech would include both stories of success as well as continuing challenges. We are pleased with the progress made in fortifying the financial condition of the company when compared to the ending balance sheet and cash flow statement of 2009. The outstanding planning effort of the recent opening of Mexico and the successful market launch and promotion of the new Mannatech skin care line called LIFT. These are all examples of well-executed projects, which required coordinated activity across the company. On the challenge side, the improving but unpredictable and sluggish economic environment has not enhanced our sales model, as we and many of our competitors still report difficult domestic sales results. To recap the results for Q4, total sales of $55.0 million rounded were down from 2009, about 22% due to lower pack and product volumes. Product revenue was reduced by about 15% and pack sales declined considerably. However, sales in Q4 were essentially even with Q3 of 2010, which could indicate that we have stabilized the sales and recruiting picture. Our Q4 operating deficit of $2.8 million was greater than last year, as Q4 2009 contained almost $2 million of favorable expense adjustments. Excluding those favorable adjustments would show very similar operating results in both comparative fourth quarters. And our net loss of $2.7 million for Q4 was greater than in 2009, due to a tax benefit of $1.9 million in the prior year against book tax expense in 2010 of $600,000. We have spoken at length in previous conference calls about our efforts to provide new sales tools and support materials to our associate leaders, many of which were delivered in a sequence begun late last summer. Now, with the benefit of time to have these tools…
Robert Sinnott
Analyst
Thank you, Steve. In mid-January, Mannatech held its Annual Presidential Summit. Qualified presidential directors attended this annual sales and training event, which included both general sessions and country-specific meetings. In short, the purpose of this global summit is to kick off the New Year by sharing with our top-producing associates what will be the major corporate initiative this year and also to get feedback on the conditions affecting our global customers, so that the company can proactively address these issues. This year’s summit meeting was attended by an enthusiastic leadership base and was very productive. The company was able to present very clear details about the four major sales initiatives that we will focus on during the entire year of 2011. While one initiative is new, three initiatives are actually continuations of programs begun during 2010 and have already gained positive traction with our field associates. So, we expect these initiatives to power us through 2011. Our overall goal is to grow shareholder value through prudent actions that support long-term growth of the company. I want to provide some details about these initiatives, so that you can understand where we are focusing our energy and our resources. The first is our Gift for Real social entrepreneurship program. This is really much more than just the sales initiative. It’s a new way of presenting our business to the world, including prospective new associates. Mannatech has always been a generous and socially responsible company. Even during recent times when the company has been challenged, Mannatech and its associates have continued charitable donations to MannaRelief, the non-profit organization that provides undernourished children with dietary supplements to help them grow up healthy and strong. In July 2010, Mannatech launched the Gift for Real program in North America, which enables our associates to help sustain…
Operator
Operator
(Operator instructions) Presenters, there are no questions at this time.
Robert Sinnott
Analyst
This is Rob Sinnott, at this time, if there are no further questions, thank you for your attention and interest in Mannatech. We look forward to speaking with you at the end of next quarter.
Operator
Operator
Thank you. This concludes today’s conference call. You may now disconnect.