Tweet
A couple of years, after I just graduated from college, a bunch of my friends flew down to Mobile, Alabama to attend G-berg’s wedding. Although we were greeted with all kinds of southern hospitality, the prevailing theme of our hosts was, “Those boys from Pennyslvania just ain’t right.” What we found particularly interesting was that G-berg’s future brother-in-law had made a tidy sum of money selling Vitamins. He had a nice house, a fast car and could do a standing backflip. He was living like Rico Suave, in a Mobile, Alabama kind of way. That was 20 years ago. The rest of the world has caught on.
There is a wave coming over the Far East and it’s coming from the West. The East wants to be like the West. Beauty aids and diet supplements are growth industries in China, along with cell phones, cars and building materials. Everyone wants to be like the guy in the picture:
Seguro que han oído que yo soy educado
Soy un caballerito un chico bien portado
Un joven responsible y siempre bien vestido
Yo no se quien ha mentido
I don't drink or smoke ain't into dope
Won't try no coke, ask me how I do it, I cope
My only addiction has to do with the female species
I eat 'em raw like sushi
No me gustan ternos, mi estilo es moderno
Si me enterno, you me enfermo
Mi apariencia es dura, vivo en la locura
No me vengan con ternuras
So please don't judge a book by its cover
There's more to being a latin lover
You got to know how to deal with a woman
That won't let go
The price you pay for being a gigolo
There's not a woman that can handle
A man like me
That's why I juggle two or three
I ain't one to commit, you can omit that bit
You pop the question that's it
Haber uno, dos, tres, cuatro mujeres
Y la situaci?all?no muere
No es un delito calmo mi apetito
Con un llanto o un grito
So again don't let my lyrics mislead you
I don't love you but I need you
Would you rather have me lie
Take a piece of your pie and say bye
Or be honest and rub your thighs
Well, it's ten o'clock and I'm two hours late
I never said I was a prompt date
But you kept persisting that I meet your parents
Huh, they're going to love my appearance
Ding dong el timbre suena
Tu madre abre, que vieja mas buena
Le digo ¡Hola! Pero no para bola
Que se ha creido vieja chola
Go and serve the food mom
Que tengo ambre
If you don't hurry, me va a dar un calambre
Y usted señor? Why's your chin on the floor?
Sierra la boca por favor
What's this amor, these little huevos?
Esto s?que yo no pruebo
I'm used to good ol' fashioned
Homestyle Spanish cooking
If i try that I'll be puking
Well it's been a pleasure but we got to go
Regresaremos temprano
Cinco, seis, o siete de la mañana
Su hija esta en buenas manos
Yes, if everyone could be Rico Suave, wouldn’t the world be a much better place?
Today I bought NUS (Nu Skin Enterprises Company) at 24.29. I will sell it in 4 to 6 weeks at 28.04. Here’s why I like NUS:
NUS stock is up over 130% over the last 12 months yet its PE is only 28. Given the ease with which this company grows its revenues, it is completely reasonable to assume that this growth will continue at this multiple. Given NUS's strong growth prospects, the shares are attractively valued trading at a current P/E to growth ratio of 0.8, below the 1.2 average for the personal care universe.
The historical chart of the stock price confirms this, giving NUS an r^2 correlation coefficient over the last 12 months of 0.95. That is amazingly consistent rock solid price momentum and progression.
Nu Skin Enterprises is a leading global direct selling company that distributes personal care products and nutritional supplements under the Nu Skin and Pharmanex brands. The company maintains three product divisions.
Nu Skin, the company's original product line, accounted for 48% of sales in 2003. It consists of more than 100 personal care products in the areas of daily skin care, advanced skin treatments, ethnobotanical personal care and other advanced products.
The Pharmanex division (45%) offers approximately 65 nutritional products, weight management products, and other specialty products. The flagship product for this division is LifePak nutritional supplements, which accounted for 43% and 20% of division and total company revenue, respectively. This division also leases a laser-based scanning tool to distributors that that measures the level of carotenoids (a powerful antioxidant) in skin tissue, and sells the Vitameal dehydrated food product, which is highly nutritious and designed to serve as an emergency food supply.
One of Pharmanex’s hottest products is the Life Pak. Formulated to add life to your years, LifePak® contains nutrients that target the symptoms associated with normal aging. LifePak® is a multivitamin/mineral/phytonutrient supplement containing a blend of bone nutrients, cardio nutrients, and B vitamins for your general wellness. Plus, combined with your body's own defense systems, powerful antioxidants promote cell protection—giving you the benefit of maximum protection.*
Benefits and Features:
• Provides powerful protection against the normal symptoms of aging to help you look and feel better longer*
• Offers superior protection against the everyday effects of pollution, toxins, and stress with more alpha-lipoic acid, lycopene, and grape seed extract*
• Delivers comprehensive nutritional support for healthy bones*
• Supplies a comprehensive blend of nutrients to support a healthy cardiovascular system*
• Provides choline and inositol, ingredients that help support a healthy brain and liver*
• Offers recognizable benefits to maintain your health with its clinically proven formula*
The Pharmanex Difference
LifePak® provides a full arsenal of nutrients that help prevent free radical damage to DNA that occurs during the natural aging process. DNA is the genetic material inside the cell's nucleus and mitochondria (cell's energy powerhouses). Healthy cell DNA is necessary for normal cell rejuvenation and regeneration, which takes place constantly on a daily basis. LifePak® delivers comprehensive nutritional support to help improve your cell DNA's ability to withstand free radical damage.* It now provides 500 percent more lycopene, 300 percent more alpha-lipoic acid, and 150 percent more grape seed extract. In addition, it supplies catechins equivalent to four cups of green tea—making the antioxidant arsenal in LifePak comparable to no other multivitamin/mineral supplement available! It's full-spectrum formula is proven equal or superior to more than 100 competitors as demonstrated by the LifePak® Challenge.*
Ok..this is good stuff, but why will NUS’ stock go up? These guys have busted into China but are presently selling via direct retail and not by the method that will really make the sales multiply => the direct selling Amway method. NUS distributes its products exclusively through a network marketing system. It has a network of approximately 678,000 active distributors, located throughout its 30 international markets, that purchase products for resale to consumers and for personal consumption. Approximately 29,000 active distributors are classified as executive distributors, which maintain a relatively higher level of sales volumes. In mainland China, NUS operates a retail stores and an employed sales force due to government regulations that prohibit the direct sales business model. There is no reason to assume it will always be like this.
Once direct selling gets off the ground, revenues will really mushroom. Amway already does direct selling in China, Nu Skin will follow. $$$MR. MARKET$$$ projects that sales will increase by double digit percent growth in 2004, reflecting robust growth in China and a recovery in North America, led by nutritional supplement sales. There will also be growth in North and Southeast Asia, with improving sales in Korea and Thailand. Revenues will also be benefited by more favorable monetary exchange rates.
Speaking of mushrooms:
Breast Cell Health Independent Research Researchers from Indiana University, the Methodist Research Institute and Purdue University performed a study comparing the biological activity of several reishi mushroom supplements (Ganoderma lucidum), including the Pharmanex(R) product ReishiMax(R), to determine ability to inhibit certain factors of highly invasive breast and prostate cancer cells. The study,
"Biologic Activity of Spores and Dried Powder from Ganoderma lucidum for the Inhibition of Highly Invasive Human Breast and Prostate Cancer Cells," found that ReishiMax(R) had the most potent inhibition against breast and prostate cancer cell proliferation amongst all the samples. The article states, "Interestingly, the sample containing powdered extract with spores [ReishiMax(R)] was the most potent in inhibiting migration (99%)."
The authors also notedthat ReishiMax(R) was the only reishi product to
identify standardized active constituents, and suggested that, "the difference in potency to inhibit cancer cells of the different samples of Ganoderma lucidum can be the result of variation in the concentration of the active ingredients." Lastly, the authors showed that cracking spores by mechanistic disruption (as with ReishiMax(R)), increased activity by releasing biologically active components. This study was published in The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, Volume 9, Number 4, 2003, pp.491-497.
In a follow-up study on ReishiMax(R), researchers from the University of Indiana and the Methodist Research Institute found that ReishiMax(R) may contribute to reducing invasion and metastasis of breast cancers by inhibiting cancer cell adhesion, cell migration, and growth of cancer cells. The study also showed that reishi (Ganoderma lucidum) could have preventive effects against secondary metastases, which are responsible for the high mortality of breast cancer. The study, "Ganoderma lucidum inhibits invasiveness of breast cancer cells," was published in the Journal of Cancer Integrative Medicine, 2004, Vol. 2, No. 1. Pop a pill to prevent breast cancer?? Do you know how HUGE this one could be?
Of course, $$$MR. MARKET$$$ isn’t going to puss out and not make an earnings projection. ANAL-ysts have NUS earnings $1.14 for the full year 2004. $$$MR. MARKET$$$ is laughing like a hyena on bong hits. $$$MR. MARKET$$$ sees NUS earning $1.21/share in 2004 on revenues of $1,173 MM, which would be 19% growth over its 2003 revenues of $986 MM. How can it continue to do this? Start it off with its ROE of 22.7%, compared to the industry average of 14.7%. These guys know how to play the game. Their Return on Assets also demonstrates their business strength, 10.9% vs. the Industry Average of 5.4%.
NUS seems to have the pricing power which is supported by their outstanding products and brand identity. The extra margin is just gravy which drips to the bottom line. Sales of LifePak(R),Pharmanex's flagship product, increased 119 percent in the United States year-over-year. The company's gross margin improved 230 basis points to 83.4 percent in the first quarter compared to prior year results.
NUS also pays an $0.32/share dividend….ka – ching! This is a very significant source of revenue to shareholders.
So if you take my $1.21 and multiply it by the P/E of 28, that takes you to a share price of $33.88, which well exceeds my sell target.
The boss thinks so as well. Here’s a dog who really CAN hunt. "We are encouraged with our record first quarter revenue," said Truman Hunt, president and chief executive officer. "Mainland China continued to
excel, posting revenue of $23 million in the quarter compared to $18 million in the fourth quarter of 2003. Japan reported 1 percent year-over-year local currency revenue growth. Revenue in the United States was up 16 percent, benefiting from sales at our February global distributor convention and growth in our nutrition business.
"The number of active distributors and preferred customers increased 23 percent compared to the prior year. In addition, global monthly product subscription orders continued to climb, reaching a 55 percent increase over the first quarter of last year. We are very encouraged by this growth and believe that our focus on improving retention through product subscriptions and other mechanisms will positively impact our business in the future."
"Japan, the United States and Mainland China remain our key geographic
priorities," Hunt said. "We are preparing for a fourth quarter 2004 launch of the Pharmanex BioPhotonic Scanner in Japan. In the United States, the Pharmanex Scanner and customer retention initiatives will continue to be the primary revenue growth drivers. Our immediate objective in Mainland China is to train our growing sales force, enabling us to build a strong foundation for what has become an important market for us."
"We continue to expect 2004 local currency revenue in Japan to hold
relatively even with prior year results," said Ritch Wood, chief financial officer. "We project 20 percent growth in combined Pharmanex and Nu Skin revenue in the United States. And given China's first quarter results, we are increasing our guidance on China revenue to the $100 to $110 million range for the year. Therefore, we increase our 2004 revenue guidance to $1.10 to $1.12 billion, assuming a yen rate of approximately 110 for the year. We also expect to improve our operating margin for the year to 12 percent. Based on these expectations, we anticipate earnings per share to be in the $1.10 to $1.14 range, up five percent from our previous guidance of $1.05 to $1.08.
"We expect second quarter revenue of $270 to $275 million, a 12 to 14
percent increase over $241 million in the second quarter of 2003, assuming a yen rate of approximately 110. We anticipate earnings per share to increase 30 to 40 percent over the prior year to $0.26 to $0.28," Wood concluded.
Ok..Woody, let’s go to the videotape:
Earnings History Jun-03 Sep-03 Dec-03 Mar-04
EPS Est 0.20 0.21 0.31 0.18
EPS Actual 0.21 0.23 0.31 0.20
Difference 0.01 0.02 0.00 0.02
Surprise % 5.0% 9.5% 0.0% 11.1%
Wood and Hunt always beat their numbers. Rico…..Suave!
I am HUGE!
There is a wave coming over the Far East and it’s coming from the West. The East wants to be like the West. Beauty aids and diet supplements are growth industries in China, along with cell phones, cars and building materials. Everyone wants to be like the guy in the picture:
Seguro que han oído que yo soy educado
Soy un caballerito un chico bien portado
Un joven responsible y siempre bien vestido
Yo no se quien ha mentido
I don't drink or smoke ain't into dope
Won't try no coke, ask me how I do it, I cope
My only addiction has to do with the female species
I eat 'em raw like sushi
No me gustan ternos, mi estilo es moderno
Si me enterno, you me enfermo
Mi apariencia es dura, vivo en la locura
No me vengan con ternuras
So please don't judge a book by its cover
There's more to being a latin lover
You got to know how to deal with a woman
That won't let go
The price you pay for being a gigolo
There's not a woman that can handle
A man like me
That's why I juggle two or three
I ain't one to commit, you can omit that bit
You pop the question that's it
Haber uno, dos, tres, cuatro mujeres
Y la situaci?all?no muere
No es un delito calmo mi apetito
Con un llanto o un grito
So again don't let my lyrics mislead you
I don't love you but I need you
Would you rather have me lie
Take a piece of your pie and say bye
Or be honest and rub your thighs
Well, it's ten o'clock and I'm two hours late
I never said I was a prompt date
But you kept persisting that I meet your parents
Huh, they're going to love my appearance
Ding dong el timbre suena
Tu madre abre, que vieja mas buena
Le digo ¡Hola! Pero no para bola
Que se ha creido vieja chola
Go and serve the food mom
Que tengo ambre
If you don't hurry, me va a dar un calambre
Y usted señor? Why's your chin on the floor?
Sierra la boca por favor
What's this amor, these little huevos?
Esto s?que yo no pruebo
I'm used to good ol' fashioned
Homestyle Spanish cooking
If i try that I'll be puking
Well it's been a pleasure but we got to go
Regresaremos temprano
Cinco, seis, o siete de la mañana
Su hija esta en buenas manos
Yes, if everyone could be Rico Suave, wouldn’t the world be a much better place?
Today I bought NUS (Nu Skin Enterprises Company) at 24.29. I will sell it in 4 to 6 weeks at 28.04. Here’s why I like NUS:
NUS stock is up over 130% over the last 12 months yet its PE is only 28. Given the ease with which this company grows its revenues, it is completely reasonable to assume that this growth will continue at this multiple. Given NUS's strong growth prospects, the shares are attractively valued trading at a current P/E to growth ratio of 0.8, below the 1.2 average for the personal care universe.
The historical chart of the stock price confirms this, giving NUS an r^2 correlation coefficient over the last 12 months of 0.95. That is amazingly consistent rock solid price momentum and progression.
Nu Skin Enterprises is a leading global direct selling company that distributes personal care products and nutritional supplements under the Nu Skin and Pharmanex brands. The company maintains three product divisions.
Nu Skin, the company's original product line, accounted for 48% of sales in 2003. It consists of more than 100 personal care products in the areas of daily skin care, advanced skin treatments, ethnobotanical personal care and other advanced products.
The Pharmanex division (45%) offers approximately 65 nutritional products, weight management products, and other specialty products. The flagship product for this division is LifePak nutritional supplements, which accounted for 43% and 20% of division and total company revenue, respectively. This division also leases a laser-based scanning tool to distributors that that measures the level of carotenoids (a powerful antioxidant) in skin tissue, and sells the Vitameal dehydrated food product, which is highly nutritious and designed to serve as an emergency food supply.
One of Pharmanex’s hottest products is the Life Pak. Formulated to add life to your years, LifePak® contains nutrients that target the symptoms associated with normal aging. LifePak® is a multivitamin/mineral/phytonutrient supplement containing a blend of bone nutrients, cardio nutrients, and B vitamins for your general wellness. Plus, combined with your body's own defense systems, powerful antioxidants promote cell protection—giving you the benefit of maximum protection.*
Benefits and Features:
• Provides powerful protection against the normal symptoms of aging to help you look and feel better longer*
• Offers superior protection against the everyday effects of pollution, toxins, and stress with more alpha-lipoic acid, lycopene, and grape seed extract*
• Delivers comprehensive nutritional support for healthy bones*
• Supplies a comprehensive blend of nutrients to support a healthy cardiovascular system*
• Provides choline and inositol, ingredients that help support a healthy brain and liver*
• Offers recognizable benefits to maintain your health with its clinically proven formula*
The Pharmanex Difference
LifePak® provides a full arsenal of nutrients that help prevent free radical damage to DNA that occurs during the natural aging process. DNA is the genetic material inside the cell's nucleus and mitochondria (cell's energy powerhouses). Healthy cell DNA is necessary for normal cell rejuvenation and regeneration, which takes place constantly on a daily basis. LifePak® delivers comprehensive nutritional support to help improve your cell DNA's ability to withstand free radical damage.* It now provides 500 percent more lycopene, 300 percent more alpha-lipoic acid, and 150 percent more grape seed extract. In addition, it supplies catechins equivalent to four cups of green tea—making the antioxidant arsenal in LifePak comparable to no other multivitamin/mineral supplement available! It's full-spectrum formula is proven equal or superior to more than 100 competitors as demonstrated by the LifePak® Challenge.*
Ok..this is good stuff, but why will NUS’ stock go up? These guys have busted into China but are presently selling via direct retail and not by the method that will really make the sales multiply => the direct selling Amway method. NUS distributes its products exclusively through a network marketing system. It has a network of approximately 678,000 active distributors, located throughout its 30 international markets, that purchase products for resale to consumers and for personal consumption. Approximately 29,000 active distributors are classified as executive distributors, which maintain a relatively higher level of sales volumes. In mainland China, NUS operates a retail stores and an employed sales force due to government regulations that prohibit the direct sales business model. There is no reason to assume it will always be like this.
Once direct selling gets off the ground, revenues will really mushroom. Amway already does direct selling in China, Nu Skin will follow. $$$MR. MARKET$$$ projects that sales will increase by double digit percent growth in 2004, reflecting robust growth in China and a recovery in North America, led by nutritional supplement sales. There will also be growth in North and Southeast Asia, with improving sales in Korea and Thailand. Revenues will also be benefited by more favorable monetary exchange rates.
Speaking of mushrooms:
Breast Cell Health Independent Research Researchers from Indiana University, the Methodist Research Institute and Purdue University performed a study comparing the biological activity of several reishi mushroom supplements (Ganoderma lucidum), including the Pharmanex(R) product ReishiMax(R), to determine ability to inhibit certain factors of highly invasive breast and prostate cancer cells. The study,
"Biologic Activity of Spores and Dried Powder from Ganoderma lucidum for the Inhibition of Highly Invasive Human Breast and Prostate Cancer Cells," found that ReishiMax(R) had the most potent inhibition against breast and prostate cancer cell proliferation amongst all the samples. The article states, "Interestingly, the sample containing powdered extract with spores [ReishiMax(R)] was the most potent in inhibiting migration (99%)."
The authors also notedthat ReishiMax(R) was the only reishi product to
identify standardized active constituents, and suggested that, "the difference in potency to inhibit cancer cells of the different samples of Ganoderma lucidum can be the result of variation in the concentration of the active ingredients." Lastly, the authors showed that cracking spores by mechanistic disruption (as with ReishiMax(R)), increased activity by releasing biologically active components. This study was published in The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, Volume 9, Number 4, 2003, pp.491-497.
In a follow-up study on ReishiMax(R), researchers from the University of Indiana and the Methodist Research Institute found that ReishiMax(R) may contribute to reducing invasion and metastasis of breast cancers by inhibiting cancer cell adhesion, cell migration, and growth of cancer cells. The study also showed that reishi (Ganoderma lucidum) could have preventive effects against secondary metastases, which are responsible for the high mortality of breast cancer. The study, "Ganoderma lucidum inhibits invasiveness of breast cancer cells," was published in the Journal of Cancer Integrative Medicine, 2004, Vol. 2, No. 1. Pop a pill to prevent breast cancer?? Do you know how HUGE this one could be?
Of course, $$$MR. MARKET$$$ isn’t going to puss out and not make an earnings projection. ANAL-ysts have NUS earnings $1.14 for the full year 2004. $$$MR. MARKET$$$ is laughing like a hyena on bong hits. $$$MR. MARKET$$$ sees NUS earning $1.21/share in 2004 on revenues of $1,173 MM, which would be 19% growth over its 2003 revenues of $986 MM. How can it continue to do this? Start it off with its ROE of 22.7%, compared to the industry average of 14.7%. These guys know how to play the game. Their Return on Assets also demonstrates their business strength, 10.9% vs. the Industry Average of 5.4%.
NUS seems to have the pricing power which is supported by their outstanding products and brand identity. The extra margin is just gravy which drips to the bottom line. Sales of LifePak(R),Pharmanex's flagship product, increased 119 percent in the United States year-over-year. The company's gross margin improved 230 basis points to 83.4 percent in the first quarter compared to prior year results.
NUS also pays an $0.32/share dividend….ka – ching! This is a very significant source of revenue to shareholders.
So if you take my $1.21 and multiply it by the P/E of 28, that takes you to a share price of $33.88, which well exceeds my sell target.
The boss thinks so as well. Here’s a dog who really CAN hunt. "We are encouraged with our record first quarter revenue," said Truman Hunt, president and chief executive officer. "Mainland China continued to
excel, posting revenue of $23 million in the quarter compared to $18 million in the fourth quarter of 2003. Japan reported 1 percent year-over-year local currency revenue growth. Revenue in the United States was up 16 percent, benefiting from sales at our February global distributor convention and growth in our nutrition business.
"The number of active distributors and preferred customers increased 23 percent compared to the prior year. In addition, global monthly product subscription orders continued to climb, reaching a 55 percent increase over the first quarter of last year. We are very encouraged by this growth and believe that our focus on improving retention through product subscriptions and other mechanisms will positively impact our business in the future."
"Japan, the United States and Mainland China remain our key geographic
priorities," Hunt said. "We are preparing for a fourth quarter 2004 launch of the Pharmanex BioPhotonic Scanner in Japan. In the United States, the Pharmanex Scanner and customer retention initiatives will continue to be the primary revenue growth drivers. Our immediate objective in Mainland China is to train our growing sales force, enabling us to build a strong foundation for what has become an important market for us."
"We continue to expect 2004 local currency revenue in Japan to hold
relatively even with prior year results," said Ritch Wood, chief financial officer. "We project 20 percent growth in combined Pharmanex and Nu Skin revenue in the United States. And given China's first quarter results, we are increasing our guidance on China revenue to the $100 to $110 million range for the year. Therefore, we increase our 2004 revenue guidance to $1.10 to $1.12 billion, assuming a yen rate of approximately 110 for the year. We also expect to improve our operating margin for the year to 12 percent. Based on these expectations, we anticipate earnings per share to be in the $1.10 to $1.14 range, up five percent from our previous guidance of $1.05 to $1.08.
"We expect second quarter revenue of $270 to $275 million, a 12 to 14
percent increase over $241 million in the second quarter of 2003, assuming a yen rate of approximately 110. We anticipate earnings per share to increase 30 to 40 percent over the prior year to $0.26 to $0.28," Wood concluded.
Ok..Woody, let’s go to the videotape:
Earnings History Jun-03 Sep-03 Dec-03 Mar-04
EPS Est 0.20 0.21 0.31 0.18
EPS Actual 0.21 0.23 0.31 0.20
Difference 0.01 0.02 0.00 0.02
Surprise % 5.0% 9.5% 0.0% 11.1%
Wood and Hunt always beat their numbers. Rico…..Suave!
I am HUGE!
Good luck!
i) the company's plans to introduce the Pharmanex®BioPhotonic Scanner in many of its international markets, including a fourth quarter 2004 launch in Japan, (ii) the company's plans to launch its Pharmanex products into China early next year and commence operations in new markets; (iii) financial projections for the third quarter of 2004, the year 2004 and the year 2005; (iv) the company's anticipated growth in China revenue in 2004 and 2005; (v) the company's belief that it will grow the business in each of its major markets over the next 18 months; and (vi) the anticipation that the company's registration statements will be declared effective in the next few days. The forward-looking statements and related assumptions involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and outcomes to differ materially from any forward-looking statements or views expressed herein. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: (a) continued regulatory scrutiny in China which has from time to time in the past, and could in the future, negatively impact the company's business, including the suspension of sales activities in stores and the imposition of fines; (b) any inability of the company to effectively manage rapid growth in China, including training and management of a large employed sales force, and regulatory risks associated with any failure of such sales force to comply with applicable company policies and government regulations; (c) risk that the Chinese government fails to adopt favorable direct selling regulations, or that the company is unable to obtain a direct selling license under these regulations; (d) regulatory risks associated with the Pharmanex® BioPhotonic Scanner, which could delay or inhibit the company's use of the Scanner if it is determined to be a medical device in any market; (e) risks that could adversely impact the company's operations or financial results in its markets, including its largest market, Japan, such as any continuation or increase in the impact of negative market conditions on the company's business, material decreases in executive level and active distributors, adverse changes in exchange rates, or the company's failure to execute effective initiatives in these markets; (f) any failure of planned initiatives or products, including the introduction of the BioPhotonic Scanner in Japan, to generate interest among distributors and customers and generate sponsoring and selling activities on a sustained basis; (g) adverse publicity related to the company's business, products or industry; (h) continued competitive pressures in the company's markets; and (i) the unwillingness of the Securities and Exchange Commission to declare the company's pending registration statements effective. The company's financial performance and the forward-looking statements contained herein are further qualified by a detailed discussion of associated risks set forth in the documents filed by the company with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Amendment No. 4 to the company's most recent registration statement on Form S-3 filed on July 26, 2004. The forward-looking statements set forth the company's beliefs as of the date of this release, and the company assumes no duty to update the forward-looking statements contained in this release to reflect any change. 
Comment