NU SKIN ENTERPRISES, INC. - Annual Report: 2012 (Form 10-K)

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

PART I

Overview

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Our Difference Demonstrated

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Our Product Categories

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Sourcing and Production

 

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Research and Development

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Intellectual Property

Geographic Sales Regions

We currently sell and distribute our products in 53 markets.  We have divided our markets into five geographic regions:  North Asia, Greater China, South Asia/Pacific, Americas and EMEA.  The following table sets forth the revenue for each of the geographic regions for the years ended December 31, 2010, 2011 and 2012:

		Year Ended December 31,
(U.S. dollars in millions)		2010								2011								2012
North Asia		$	686.1				45	%		$	751.2				43	%		$	794.8				37	%
Greater China			268.2				17				341.9				20				570.7				26
South Asia/Pacific			182.8				12				236.2				14				330.3				15
Americas			250.0				16				252.0				14				288.7				13
EMEA			150.2				10				162.7				9				185.2				9
		$	1,537.3				100	%		$	1,744.0				100	%		$	2,169.7				100	%

 

 

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North Asia.  The following table provides information on each of the markets in the North Asia region, including the year we commenced operations in the market, 2012 revenue, and the percentage of our total 2012 revenue for each market:

(U.S. dollars in millions)	Year Opened	2012 Revenue		Percentage of 2012 Revenue
Japan	1993	$	497.3	23%
South Korea	1996	$	297.5	14%

(U.S. dollars in millions)	Year Opened	2012 Revenue		Percentage of 2012 Revenue
China	2003	$	264.8	12%
Hong Kong	1991	$	169.8	8%
Taiwan	1992	$	136.1	6%

In China, we offer many of our Nu Skin products and a locally produced value line of personal care products under the Scion brand name.  We also sell a select number of Pharmanex products, including our number one nutritional product, LifePak. In Hong Kong and Taiwan, we offer a majority of our Nu Skin and Pharmanex products and limited other products and services, although our ageLOC Galvanic Spa Systems are not approved for sale in Taiwan. The introduction of our ageLOC R² and ageLOC Galvanic Body Spa and related products through a limited-time offer in connection with the Greater China regional convention in the second quarter of 2012 generated significant growth in this region.

 

 

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Our Hong Kong and Taiwan markets operate under our global direct selling business model and global sales compensation plan. However, we currently are unable to operate under our global direct selling business model in China, as a result of regulatory restrictions on direct selling activities in this market. Consequently, we have implemented a business model that utilizes an employed sales force and contractual sales promoters to sell products through our stores. We continue to operate this model because we believe it provides us with more flexibility in the manner in which we can operate throughout China and compensate our contractual sales promoters and employed sales representatives. We rely on our employed sales force and contractual sales promoters to market and sell products through our various store locations throughout China supported by minimal traditional mass media advertising or direct marketing campaigns. Our sales force may also refer individuals to join our sales force as sales employees, contractual sales promoters or direct sellers. Our business model in China is largely based upon our ability to attract consumers to our stores through our employed sales force and contractual sales promoters, to educate consumers about our products through frequent training meetings, and to promote repeat purchases. We also continue to implement a direct sales opportunity that allows us to engage an entry-level, non-employee sales force that can sell products away from our stores where we have obtained a direct sales license. We have obtained direct selling licenses in over 50 cities and districts covering 15 provinces in China. We continue to work to obtain the necessary approvals in other locations in China. Our current direct sales model is structured in a manner that we believe complements our store model. We currently operate through approximately 40 stores in China. We recently announced plans to significantly expand our store count over the next five years.

 

(U.S. dollars in millions)	Year Opened	2012 Revenue			Percentage of 2012 Revenue
South Asia/Pacific Region	1993	$		330.3	15%

(1)	South Asia/Pacific region includes Australia, Brunei, French Polynesia, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

 

(U.S. dollars in millions)	Year Opened	2012 Revenue		Percentage of 2012 Revenue
Americas Region(1)	1984	$	288.7	13%

(1)	Americas region  includes Argentina, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, United States and Venezuela.

 

Substantially all of our Nu Skin and Pharmanex products are available for sale in the Americas region. We introduced our new ageLOC True Face Essence Ultra through a limited-time offer in connection with the Americas regional convention in the second half of 2012.

 

 

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(U.S. dollars in millions)	Year Opened	2012 Revenue		Percentage of 2012 Revenue
EMEA Region(1)	1995	$	185.2	9%

(1)	EMEA region includes Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany,Hungary, Ireland, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal,Romania, Russia, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine and the United Kingdom.

 

We offer a majority of our Pharmanex and Nu Skin products in the EMEA region. We introduced our ageLOC Galvanic Body Spa and related products and ageLOC R² in the majority of our markets in the EMEA region through limited-time-offers in first and second halves of 2012, respectively.

Distribution Channel

 

 

 

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
 

 

Total Number of Actives and Sales Leaders by Region

		As of December 31, 2010								As of December 31, 2011								As of December 31, 2012
		Actives				Sales Leaders				Actives				Sales Leaders				Actives				Sales Leaders
North Asia			329,000				14,687				338,000				15,293				349,000				17,395
Greater China			118,000				8,015				143,000				11,808				216,000				18,527
South Asia/Pacific			84,000				3,930				99,000				5,619				98,000				4,988
Americas			161,000				5,305				166,000				5,356				164,000				6,352
EMEA			107,000				3,739				109,000				3,740				119,000				4,528
Total			799,000				35,676				855,000				41,816				946,000				51,790

 

 

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Our Culture

From our inception more than 28 years ago, Nu Skin Enterprises' mission has been to improve people's lives through our innovative products and rewarding business opportunities and by promoting an uplifting and enriching culture. Our mission statement encourages people to be a "force for good" in the world around them. Our culture unites our distributors and employees in innovative humanitarian efforts, the most significant of which are the Nourish the Children initiative that provides an opportunity to purchase and donate nutritious meals to malnourished children and the Nu Skin Force for Good Foundation that supports charitable causes that improve children's lives. We encourage our distributors and employees to live each day with an understanding that together we have the opportunity to make the world a better place.

 

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Competition

Direct Selling Companies.  We compete with other direct selling organizations, some of which have a longer operating history and higher visibility, name recognition and financial resources than we do. The leading direct selling companies in our existing markets are Herbalife, Mary Kay, Oriflame, Avon and Amway. We compete with these companies to attract and retain our distributors and consumers based on the strength of our multiple business opportunities, product offerings, global sales compensation plan, management and international operations.

Government Regulation

 

 

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Employees

Available Information

Executive Officers

Our executive officers as of January 31, 2013, are as follows:

Name		Age		Position
Steven J. Lund		59		Executive Chairman of the Board
M. Truman Hunt		53		President and Chief Executive Officer
Ritch N. Wood		47		Chief Financial Officer
Joseph Y. Chang		60		Chief Scientific Officer and Executive Vice President, Product Development
Daniel R. Chard		48		President, Global Sales and Operations
D. Matthew Dorny		48		General Counsel and Secretary
Scott E. Schwerdt		55		President, Americas Region

 

 

 

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We face a number of substantial risks. Our business, financial condition or results of operations could be harmed by any of these risks. The trading price of our common stock could decline due to any of these risks, and they should be considered in connection with the other information contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. These risk factors should be read together with the other items in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, including Item 1. "Business" and Item 7. "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operation."

Difficult economic conditions could harm our business.

Global economic conditions continue to be challenging.  Even with continued growth in many of our markets, difficult economic conditions could adversely affect our business in the future by causing a decline in demand for our products, particularly if the economic conditions are prolonged or worsen. In addition, such economic conditions may adversely impact access to capital for us and our suppliers, may decrease the ability of our distributors and consumers to obtain or maintain credit cards, and may otherwise adversely impact our operations and overall financial condition.

Currency exchange rate fluctuations could impact our financial results.

In 2012, approximately 89% of our sales occurred in markets outside of the United States in each market's respective local currency. We purchase inventory primarily in the United States in U.S. dollars. In preparing our financial statements, we translate revenue and expenses in our markets outside the United States from their local currencies into U.S. dollars using weighted average exchange rates. If the U.S. dollar strengthens relative to local currencies, our reported revenue, gross profit and net income will likely be reduced. Foreign currency fluctuations, particularly with respect to the Japanese yen given the amount of yen denominated debt on our balance sheet, can also result in losses and gains resulting from translation of foreign currency denominated balances on our balance sheet. Although we may engage in transactions intended to reduce our exposure to foreign currency fluctuations, there can be no assurance that these transactions will be effective. Given the complex global political and economic dynamics that affect exchange rate fluctuations, it is difficult to predict future fluctuations and the effect these fluctuations may have upon future reported results or our overall financial condition.

Improper distributor actions that violate laws or regulations could harm our business.

Distributor activities that violate applicable laws or regulations could result in government or third party actions against us, which could harm our business. Except in China, our distributors are not employees and act independently of us. The most significant area of risk for such activities relates to improper product claims and claims regarding the business opportunity of being a distributor.  We implement strict policies and procedures to ensure our distributors comply with legal requirements. However, given the size of our distributor force, we experience problems with distributors from time to time. For example, product claims made by some of our distributors in 1990 and 1991 led to a United States Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") investigation that resulted in our entering into a consent decree with the FTC. In addition, rulings by the South Korean Federal Trade Commission and by judicial authorities against us and other companies in South Korea indicate that vicarious liability may be imposed on us for the criminal activity of our distributors. We have also seen an increase in sales aids and promotional material produced by distributors and distributor groups in some markets, increasing the burden on us to monitor compliance of such materials and increasing the risk that such materials could contain problematic product or marketing claims in violation of our policies and applicable regulations. As we expand internationally, our distributors often attempt to anticipate which markets we will open in the future and begin marketing and sponsoring activities in markets where we are not qualified to conduct business. We could face fines or other legal action if our distributors violate applicable laws and regulations.

If we are unable to retain our existing distributors and recruit additional distributors, our revenue will not increase and may even decline.

Our products are primarily marketed by our distributors and we depend on them to generate virtually all of our revenue. Our distributors may terminate their services at any time, and, like most direct selling companies, we experience high turnover among distributors from year to year. Distributors who join to purchase our products for personal consumption or for short-term income goals frequently only stay with us for a short time. Sales Leaders who have committed time and effort to build a sales organization will generally stay for longer periods. Distributors have highly variable levels of training, skills and capabilities. To increase our revenue, we must increase the number of and/or the productivity of our distributors.

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We have experienced periodic declines in both Sales Leaders and Actives in the past and could experience such declines again in the future. If our initiatives do not drive growth in both our Sales Leaders and Actives, our operating results could be harmed. While we take many steps to help train, motivate, and retain distributors, we cannot accurately predict how the number and productivity of distributors may fluctuate because we rely primarily upon our Sales Leaders to find new consumers, and train and develop new Sales Leaders. Our operating results could be harmed if we, and our Sales Leaders, do not generate sufficient interest in our business to retain and motivate existing distributors and attract new distributors.

The number and productivity of our distributors could be harmed by several additional factors, including:

•	any adverse publicity regarding us, our products, our distribution channel, or our competitors;

•	lack of interest in, or the technical failure of, existing or new products;

•	lack of a compelling product or income opportunity that generates interest for potential new distributors;

•	any negative public perception of our products and their ingredients;

•	any negative public perception of our distributors and direct selling businesses in general;

•	our actions to enforce our policies and procedures;

•	any regulatory actions or charges against us or others in our industry;

•	general economic and business conditions; and

•	potential saturation or maturity levels in a given country or market which could negatively impact our ability to attract and retain distributors in such market.

Because our Japanese operations account for a significant part of our business, continued weakness in our business operations in Japan could harm our business.

Approximately 23% of our 2012 revenue was generated in Japan. Although our revenue in Japan increased in 2012 compared to the prior year, we have experienced local currency revenue declines in the previous several years and continue to face challenges in this market. These declines could continue or increase. Factors that could impact our results in the market include:

•	continued or increased levels of regulatory and media scrutiny and any regulatory actions taken by regulators, or any adoption of more restrictive regulations, in response to such scrutiny;

•	significant weakening of the Japanese yen;

 

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•	increased regulatory constraints with respect to the claims we can make regarding the efficacy of our products, which could limit our ability to effectively market them;

•	inappropriate activities by our distributors and any resulting regulatory actions;

•	improper practices of other direct selling companies or their distributors that increase regulatory and media scrutiny of our industry;

•	increased weakness in the economy or consumer confidence; and

•	increased competitive pressures from other direct selling companies and their distributors who actively seek to solicit our distributors to join their businesses.

Regulatory scrutiny of the direct selling industry in Japan could harm our business if we are not able to successfully limit the number of general inquiries and complaints regarding our business received by consumer centers.

The direct selling industry in Japan continues to experience regulatory and media scrutiny. Several direct sellers in Japan have been penalized for actions of distributors that violated applicable regulations, including a prominent international direct selling company and a large Japanese direct selling company that were suspended from sponsoring activities for three months in 2008 and six months in 2009, respectively.

Over the last few years, we have received warnings from consumer centers in certain prefectures raising concerns about the number of general inquiries and complaints regarding us. Although we are implementing additional steps to reinforce our distributor compliance, education and training efforts in Japan, we cannot be sure that such efforts will be successful. If the current level of inquiries or complaints does not improve, there is an increased likelihood that the government could take action against us, including sanctions and or suspensions, or that we could receive negative media attention, all of which could harm our business.

If direct selling regulations in China are modified, interpreted or enforced in a manner that results in negative changes to our business model or the imposition of a range of potential penalties, our business would be significantly negatively impacted.

The government of China has adopted direct selling and anti-pyramiding regulations that impose significant restrictions and limitations on the way we do business. Most notably, the regulations include a restriction on the use of multi-level compensation, which is the basis of how we compensate distributors outside of China. We have structured our business model in China based on several factors: our interpretation of applicable regulations, the guidance we have received from government officials, our understanding of the practices of other international direct selling companies operating in China, and our understanding as to how regulators are interpreting and enforcing the regulations. In China, we operate with both independent direct sellers who can sell away from our stores as well as contractual sales promoters who can progress through various leadership positions in our sales organization and become employed sales representatives once they have achieved designated performance levels. We generally compensate our Sales Leaders at a level that is competitive with other direct selling companies in the market and reflective of the compensation of our Sales Leaders globally. The nature of the political, regulatory and legal systems in China gives regulatory agencies at both the local and central levels of government broad discretion to interpret and enforce regulations as they deem appropriate to promote social order. We face a risk that regulators may change the way in which they currently interpret and enforce the direct selling regulations. If our business practices are found to be in violation of applicable regulations as they may be interpreted or enforced in the future, in particular our use of the sales productivity of a Sales Leader and the sales promoters and employees that such Sales Leader leads and supervises in setting his/her quarterly compensation level, then we could be sanctioned and/or required to change our business model, either of which could significantly harm our business.

 

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Our operations in China are subject to significant government scrutiny, and we could be subject to fines or other penalties if our sales force engage in activities that violate applicable laws and regulations.

We work diligently to train our sales force in China on how our China business model differs from our global business model. However, because there are often foreign Sales Leaders performing training in China and because our global model varies significantly from our China business model, confusion can result as to how those working in China should promote the business in China. This confusion may lead to governmental reviews and investigations of our operations in China. The legal system in China provides governmental authorities with broad latitude to conduct investigations. We anticipate that our business will continue to attract significant governmental scrutiny, particularly as our business grows and the number of sales employees and contractual sales promoters continues to increase. We face a risk that future investigations may result in fines or other more significant sanctions.

Our ability to expand our business in China could be negatively impacted if we are unable to obtain additional necessary national and local government approvals in China.

We have obtained direct selling licenses in over 50 cities and districts covering 15 provinces in China. In order to expand our direct selling model into additional provinces, we currently must obtain a series of approvals from district, city, provincial and national government agencies with respect to each province in which we wish to expand. The process for obtaining the necessary government approvals to conduct direct selling continues to evolve and is lengthy, as we are required to work with a large number of provincial, city, district and national government authorities. The complexity of the approval process as well as the government's continued cautious approach as direct selling develops in China makes it difficult to predict the timeline for obtaining these approvals. If the government's evaluation of our direct selling activities results in further delays in obtaining licenses elsewhere, or if the current processes for obtaining approvals are delayed further for any reason or are changed or are interpreted differently than currently understood, our ability to receive direct selling licenses in China and our growth prospects in this market, could be negatively impacted.

We also face lengthy timelines with respect to product registrations in China. The registration process may be particularly difficult for nutrition products classified as health foods. The process for obtaining product permits and licenses may require extended periods of time that may prevent us from being able to launch new product initiatives in China on the same timelines as other markets around the world.

If we are unable to effectively manage our rapid growth in China, our operations could be harmed.

We have experienced rapid growth in China, which could strain our ability to effectively manage our operations. We continue to focus resources to successfully manage the necessary expansion of our management team, labor force, manufacturing operations, government relations efforts, and stores and service centers. Insufficient management of such growth could result in, among other things, product delays or shortages, operating mistakes and errors, inadequate customer service, inappropriate claims or promotions by our sales force, and governmental inquires and investigations, all of which could harm our revenue and ability to generate sustained growth and result in unanticipated expenses. In addition, we will need to continue to attract and develop qualified management personnel to sustain growth in this market. If we are not able to successfully retain existing personnel and identify, hire and integrate new personnel, our business and growth prospects could be harmed.

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Our business could be negatively impacted if we fail to execute our product launch process due to increased pressure on our supply chain, information systems and management.

Although our product launch process may vary by market, we generally introduce new products to our distributors and consumers in all markets where the products are registered, through limited-time offers in connection with global and regional distributor events. The limited-time offers typically generate significant distributor activity and a high level of purchasing, which may result in a higher than normal increase in revenue during the quarter of the limited-time offer and skew year-over-year and sequential comparisons. We typically make a new product generally available within a year following the regional limited-time offers. We currently anticipate that the size of these limited-time offers may increase as our Actives grow and the percentage of Actives participating in these limited-time offers increases. However, we cannot be sure whether these limited-time offers will continue to generate distributor interest and participation, or what the short- and long-term impact will be on our business. We may experience difficulty effectively managing growth associated with these limited-time offers. In addition, the size and condensed schedule of these global product launches increases pressure on our supply chain. If we are unable to accurately forecast sales levels in each market, obtain sufficient ingredients or produce a sufficient supply to meet global demand, we may incur higher expedited shipping costs and we may experience stockouts, which could negatively impact the enthusiasm of our distributors and consumers. Conversely, if we over forecast demand for a global product launch, we could incur increased inventory write-offs. Our order processing systems could have difficulties handling the high volume of orders generated by limited-time offers. Although our previous limited-time offers have not materially affected our product return rate, these events may increase our product return rate in the future.

If our Pharmanex BioPhotonic Scanner or Galvanic Spa Systems, including our recently launched Body Spa, are determined to be medical devices in a particular geographic market or if our distributors use these products for medical purposes or make improper medical claims, our ability to continue to market and distribute such tools could be harmed.

One of our strategies is to market unique and innovative products and tools that allow our distributors to distinguish our products, including the Galvanic Spa System and the Pharmanex BioPhotonic Scanner. Any determination by regulatory authorities in our markets that these products must be registered as medical devices could restrict our ability to import or sell the product in such market until registration is obtained. While we have not been required to register these products as medical devices in most of our markets, we were required to register our Galvanic Spa System as a medical device in Indonesia, Thailand and Colombia. There have been legislative proposals in Singapore and Malaysia relating to the regulation of medical devices that could affect the way we market the Galvanic Spa System and the Pharmanex BioPhotonic Scanner in these countries.

The United States Food and Drug Administration (the "FDA") has refused admission of shipments of our Galvanic Spa facial units because the FDA believes it may require clearance as a medical device. While we disagree with the FDA's position, we have elected to suspend further imports of Galvanic Spa facial units. In September 2012, we filed an application for clearance of an alternative facial spa unit as a low-level medical device. We currently anticipate that this process could take nine months to a year or longer. If we face delays or challenges in getting clearance or resolving the matter with the FDA, or if we cease selling existing inventory or do not have sufficient inventory to sell while we work through these issues with the FDA, our results in the United States could be negatively impacted. In addition, if our distributors are making medical claims regarding our products or are using our products to perform medical diagnoses or other activities limited to licensed professionals or approved medical devices, it could negatively impact our ability to market or sell such products.

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Where necessary, obtaining medical device registrations and clearances could require us to provide documentation concerning product manufacturing and clinical utility, to make design, specification and manufacturing process modifications to meet standards imposed on medical device companies, and to modify our marketing claims regarding the registered product. While we have successfully registered the Galvanic Spa facial unit as a medical device in Indonesia, Thailand and Colombia, because medical device regulations vary widely from country to country, there can be no assurance we will not face challenges or delays in obtaining clearance in other markets, including the United States, or that we will be able to make any required modifications or provide documentation necessary to obtain clearance.  If we obtain such medical device clearance in order to sell a product in one market, such clearance may be used as precedent for requiring similar approval in another market. Such additional requirements could negatively impact the cost associated with manufacturing and selling the Galvanic Spa System as a non-medical device in those markets.

Laws and regulations may prohibit or severely restrict direct selling and cause our revenue and profitability to decline, and regulators could adopt new regulations that harm our business.

Various government agencies throughout the world regulate direct sales practices. Laws and regulations in Japan, South Korea and China are particularly burdensome. These laws and regulations are generally intended to prevent fraudulent or deceptive schemes, often referred to as "pyramid" schemes, that compensate participants primarily for recruiting additional participants without significant emphasis on product sales. The laws and regulations in our current markets often:

•	impose order cancellations, product returns, inventory buy-backs and cooling-off rights for distributors and consumers;

•	require us, or our distributors, to register with government agencies;

•	impose caps on the amount of commissions we can pay;

•	impose reporting requirements; and

•	require that we ensure, among other things, that our distributors maintain levels of product sales to qualify to receive commissions and that our distributors are being compensated for sales of products and not for recruiting others.

 

Complying with these widely varying and sometimes inconsistent rules and regulations can be difficult and may require significant resources. The laws and regulations governing direct selling are modified from time to time, and, like other direct selling companies, we are subject from time to time to government investigations in our various markets related to our direct selling activities.  This can require us to make changes to our business model and aspects of our sales compensation plan in the markets impacted by such changes and investigations. In addition, countries where we currently do business could change their laws or regulations to prohibit direct selling. If we are unable to continue business in existing markets or commence operations in new markets because of these laws, our revenue and profitability may decline.

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Challenges to the form of our network marketing system could harm our business.

We may be subject to challenges by government regulators regarding the form of our network marketing system. Legal and regulatory requirements concerning the direct-selling industry generally do not include "bright line" rules and are inherently fact-based and subject to interpretation. As a result, regulators and courts have discretion in their application of these laws and regulations, and the enforcement or interpretation of these laws and regulations by governmental agencies or courts can change. We could also be subject to challenges by private parties in civil actions. We are aware of recent civil actions against some of our competitors in the United States, including one involving a significant settlement. Recent allegations by short-sellers regarding the legality of multi-level marketing have also created intense public scrutiny of our industry.

From time to time, we receive formal and informal inquiries from various government regulatory authorities about our business and our compliance with local laws and regulations. If we are not able to resolve regulatory reviews to the satisfaction of the applicable governmental agencies, or there are any new regulatory challenges or civil actions regarding our business or others in our industry, our business could be harmed if our network marketing program is found not to be in compliance with applicable law or regulations, such actions result in the imposition of any fines or damages on our business, create adverse publicity, increase scrutiny of our industry, detrimentally affect our efforts to recruit or motivate distributors and attract consumers, or interpret laws in a manner inconsistent with our current business practices.

Government regulations relating to the marketing and advertising of our products and services may restrict, inhibit or delay our ability to sell our products and harm our business.

Government authorities regulate advertising and product claims regarding the efficacy and benefits of our products. These regulatory authorities typically require adequate and reliable scientific substantiation to support any marketing claims.  What constitutes such reliable scientific substantiation can vary widely from market to market and there is no assurance that the research and development efforts that we undertake to support our claims will be deemed adequate for any particular product or claim.  If we are unable to show adequate and reliable scientific substantiation for our product claims, or our marketing materials or distributor marketing materials make claims that exceed the scope of allowed claims for dietary supplements, cosmetics or tools that we offer our distributors, the FDA or other regulatory authorities could take enforcement action requiring us to revise our marketing materials, amend our claims or even stop selling the products which could harm our business.

For example, the FDA recently issued warning letters to several cosmetic companies alleging improper structure/function claims regarding their cosmetic products, including, for example, product claims regarding gene activity, cellular rejuvenation, and rebuilding collagen. There is a degree of subjectivity in determining whether a claim is an improper structure/function claim. Given this subjectivity and our research and development focus on the sources of aging and gene expression, there is a risk that we could receive a warning letter, be required to modify our product claims or take other actions to satisfy the FDA if the FDA determines any of our marketing materials include improper structure/function claims for our cosmetic products. In addition, plaintiffs' lawyers have filed class action lawsuits against some of our competitors after our competitors received these FDA warning letters. There can be no assurance that we will not be subject to governmental actions or class action lawsuits, which could harm our business.

In the United States, effective December 1, 2009, the FTC approved revisions to its Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising, ("Guides"), that require disclosure of material connections between an endorser and the company they are endorsing and generally do not allow marketing using atypical results. Our distributors have historically used testimonials and "before and after" photos to market and sell some of our popular products such as our ageLOC Galvanic Spa systems and ageLOC Transformation anti-aging skin care system. We intend to continue to use testimonials for our popular products, including weight loss products.  In highly regulated and scrutinized product categories such as weight loss if we or our distributors fail to comply with the Guides, the FTC could bring an enforcement action against us and we could be fined and/or forced to alter our marketing materials.

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Regulations governing the registration or pre-approval of our products could harm our business.

Our products are subject to numerous domestic and foreign government agencies' and authorities' laws and extensive regulations governing the ingredients and products that may be marketed without pre-market approval and/or registration as a drug.  Many of these laws and regulations involve a high level of subjectivity, are inherently fact-based and subject to interpretation, and vary significantly from market to market. These laws and regulations can also limit the claims we can make regarding our products and often restrict our ability to introduce products or ingredients into one or more markets.

At times these laws and regulations may delay or prevent us altogether from launching a product in a market, require us to reformulate a product or limit or amend the claims made regarding a product. If these laws and regulations further restrict, inhibit or delay our ability to introduce or market our products or limit the claims we are able to make regarding our products, our business may be harmed.

For example, in the United States some legislators and industry critics have pushed for years to increase regulatory authority by the FDA over nutritional supplements. In 2011 the FDA proposed draft guidance to clarify the FDA's interpretation of the dietary ingredient notification requirements. This draft guidance is not final yet but appears to indicate that the FDA is expanding its definition of what is considered a "new dietary ingredient" in the United States. The industry is providing comments and working with the FDA to modify this guidance, however, if enacted in final form as proposed this guidance could impose new and significant regulatory barriers for our nutritional supplement products or unique ingredients, which could delay or inhibit our ability to formulate, introduce and sell nutritional supplements as we have in the past.

We face similar pressures in our other markets, including Europe, which is expected to adopt additional regulations setting new limits on acceptable maximum levels of vitamins and minerals. In Europe, for example, we are unable to market supplements that contain ingredients that were not marketed in Europe prior to May 1997 ("novel foods") without going through an extensive registration and pre-market approval process.

Such regulations in any given market can also limit our ability to import products and can delay product launches as we go through the registration and approval process for those products. Furthermore, if we fail to comply with these regulations, we could face enforcement action against us and we could be fined, forced to alter or stop selling our products.

New regulations governing the introduction, marketing and sale of our products to consumers could harm our business.

Our operations could be harmed if new laws or regulations are enacted that restrict our ability to market or distribute our products or impose additional burdens or requirements on us in order to continue selling our products.  We have observed a general increase in regulatory activity and activism in the United States and across many markets globally where we operate and the regulatory landscape is becoming more complex with increasingly strict requirements.  If this trend continues, we may find it necessary to alter some of the ways we have traditionally marketed our products in order to stay in compliance with a changing regulatory landscape and this could add to the costs of our operations and/or have an adverse impact on our business.

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Our operations could be harmed if we are found not to be in compliance with Good Manufacturing Practices.

In the United States, FDA regulations on Good Manufacturing Practices and Adverse Event Reporting requirements for the nutritional supplement industry require us and our vendors to maintain good manufacturing processes, including stringent vendor qualifications, ingredient identification, manufacturing controls and record keeping.  The ingredient identification requirement, which requires us to confirm the levels, identity and potency of ingredients listed on our product labels within a narrow range, is particularly burdensome and difficult for us with respect to a product like LifePak Nano, which contains as many as 36 different ingredients. We are also required to report serious adverse events associated with consumer use of our products. Our operations could be harmed if regulatory authorities make determinations that we, or our vendors, are not in compliance with these regulations or public reporting of adverse events harms our reputation for quality and safety. A finding of noncompliance may result in administrative warnings, penalties or actions impacting our ability to continue selling certain products.  In addition, compliance with these regulations has increased and may further increase the cost of manufacturing certain of our products as we work with our vendors to assure they are qualified and in compliance.

The loss of suppliers or shortages in ingredients could harm our business.

We acquire ingredients and products from two suppliers that each currently manufactures a significant portion of our Nu Skin personal care products.  In addition, we currently rely on two suppliers for a majority of our Pharmanex nutritional supplement products. A loss of any of these suppliers and any difficulties in finding or transitioning to alternative suppliers could harm our business. In addition, we obtain some of our products, including our ageLOC Galvanic Spa systems, from sole suppliers that own or control the product formulations, ingredients, or other intellectual property rights associated with such products. We also license the right to distribute some of our products from third parties. In the event we are unable to renew these contracts, we may need to discontinue some products or develop substitute products, which could harm our revenue. In addition, if we experience supply shortages or regulatory impediments with respect to the raw materials and ingredients we use in our products, we may need to seek alternative supplies or suppliers and may experience difficulties in finding ingredients that are comparable in quality and price. Some of our nutritional products, including g3 juice, incorporate natural products that are only harvested once a year and may have limited supplies. If demand exceeds forecasts, we may have difficulties in obtaining additional supplies to meet the excess demand until the next growing season. If we are unable to successfully respond to such issues, our business could be harmed.

Product diversion to certain markets, including China, may have a negative impact on our business.

From time to time, we see our products being sold through online or other distribution channels in certain markets.  Although we have taken steps to try to control this activity, particularly for products sold in China, product diversion continues to be a challenge.  Product diversion causes confusion regarding our distribution channels and negatively impacts our distributors' ability to sell our products. It also creates a negative impression regarding the viability of the business opportunity for our distributors and sales representatives, which can harm our ability to recruit new distributors and sales representatives. Product diversion schemes may also involve illegal importation, investment or other activities. If we are unable to effectively address this issue or if diversion increases, our business could be harmed.

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Changes to our sales compensation plan could be viewed negatively by some distributors, could fail to achieve desired long-term results and have a negative impact on revenue.

Our sales compensation plan includes some components that differ from market to market. We modify components of our sales compensation plan from time to time to keep our sales compensation plan competitive and attractive to existing and potential distributors, to address changing market dynamics, to provide incentives to distributors that we believe will help grow our business, to conform to local regulations and to address other business needs. Because of the size of our distributor force and the complexity of our sales compensation plan, it is difficult to predict how such changes will be viewed by distributors and whether such changes will achieve their desired results. For example, certain changes we made to our sales compensation plan in the past, which were successful in several markets, did not achieve anticipated results in certain other markets and negatively impacted our business.

Production difficulties, quality control problems and inaccurate forecasting could harm our business.

Production difficulties and quality control problems and our reliance on third party suppliers to deliver quality products in a timely manner could harm our business. Occasionally, we have experienced production difficulties with respect to our products, including the import or export of ingredients and delivery of products that do not meet our specifications and quality control standards. These quality problems have in the past, and could in the future, result in stock outages or shortages in our markets with respect to such products, harming our sales and creating inventory write-offs for unusable products.

Adverse publicity concerning our business, marketing plan, products or people could harm our business and reputation.

Growth in our distributors and consumers and our results of operations can be particularly impacted by adverse publicity regarding us, the nature of our sales network, our products or the actions of our distributors and employees. Specifically, we are susceptible to adverse publicity concerning:

•	suspicions about the legality and ethics of network marketing;

•	the safety or effectiveness of ingredients in our or our competitors' products;

•	recent allegations that four of our products contained lead amounts in excess of amounts that would require consumer warnings in California under Proposition 65;

•	regulatory investigations of us, our competitors and our respective products;

•	the actions of our current or former distributors and employees; and

•	public perceptions of the direct selling industry or the nutritional or personal care industry generally.

In addition, in the past we have experienced negative publicity that has harmed our business in connection with regulatory investigations and inquiries.  Critics of our industry, short sellers and other individuals who want to pursue an agenda, have in the past and may in the future utilize the Internet, the press and other means to publish criticisms of the industry, our company and our competitors, or make allegations regarding our business and operations, or the business and operations of our competitors. We or others in our industry may receive similar negative publicity or allegations in the future, and it may harm our business and reputation.

- 28 -

Non-compliance with anti-corruption laws could harm our business.

Our international operations are subject to anti-corruption laws, including the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (the "FCPA"). Any allegations that we are not in compliance with anti-corruption laws may require us to dedicate time and resources to an internal investigation of the allegations or may result in a government investigation. Any determination that our operations or activities are not in compliance with existing anti-corruption laws or regulations could result in the imposition of substantial fines, and other penalties. Although we have implemented anti-corruption policies, controls and training globally to protect against violation of these laws, we cannot be certain that these efforts will be effective. We are aware that one of our competitors is under investigation in the United States for allegations that its employees violated the FCPA in China and other markets. If this investigation causes adverse publicity or increased scrutiny of our industry, our business could be harmed.

Our ability to conduct business in international markets may be affected by political, legal, tax and regulatory risks.

Our ability to capitalize on growth in new international markets and to maintain the current level of operations in our existing international markets is exposed to risks associated with our international operations, including:

•	the possibility that a foreign government might ban or severely restrict our business method of direct selling, or that local civil unrest, political instability or changes in diplomatic or trade relationships might disrupt our operations in an international market;

•	the lack of well-established or reliable legal systems in certain areas where we operate;

•	the presence of high inflation in the economies of international markets in which we operate;

•	the possibility that a government authority might impose legal, tax or other financial burdens on us or our distributors, due, for example, to the structure of our operations in various markets;

•	the possibility that a government authority might challenge the status of our distributors as independent contractors or impose employment or social taxes on our distributors; and

•	the possibility that governments may impose currency remittance restrictions limiting our ability to repatriate cash.

We depend on our key personnel, and the loss of the services provided by any of our executive officers or other key employees could harm our business and results of operations.

Our success depends to a significant degree upon the continued contributions of our senior and regional management, many of whom would be difficult to replace. We currently have expatriates serving in key management positions in certain markets, including Japan.  Our senior and regional management employees may voluntarily terminate their employment with us at any time. In addition, we will need to continue to attract and develop qualified management personnel to sustain growth in our markets. If we are not able to successfully retain existing personnel and identify, hire and integrate new personnel, our business and growth prospects could be harmed.

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Inability of products and other initiatives to gain or maintain distributor and market acceptance could harm our business.

The loss of key distributors could negatively impact our growth and our revenue.

Government authorities may question our tax positions or transfer pricing policies or change their laws in a manner that could increase our effective tax rate or otherwise harm our business.

As a U.S. company doing business in international markets through subsidiaries, we are subject to various tax and intercompany pricing laws, including those relating to the flow of funds between our company and our subsidiaries. From time to time, we are audited by tax regulators in the United States and in our foreign markets. If regulators challenge our tax positions, corporate structure, transfer pricing mechanisms or intercompany transfers, we may be subject to fines and payment of back taxes, our effective tax rate may increase and our operations may be harmed. Tax rates vary from country to country, and, if tax authorities determine that our profits in one jurisdiction may need to be increased, we may not be able to fully utilize all foreign tax credits that are generated, which will increase our effective tax rate. For example, our federal corporate income tax rate in the United States is 35%. If our profitability in a higher tax jurisdiction, such as Japan where our tax rate in 2012 was approximately 46%, increases disproportionately to the rest of our business, our effective tax rate may increase. The various customs, exchange control and transfer pricing laws are continually changing and are subject to the interpretation of government agencies. We have experienced increased efforts by customs authorities in some countries to reclassify our products or otherwise increase the level of duties we pay on our products.  Despite our efforts to be aware of and comply with such laws, and changes to and interpretations thereof, there is a risk that we may not continue to operate in compliance with such laws. We may need to adjust our operating procedures in response to such changes, and as a result, our business may suffer. In addition, due to the international nature of our business, we are subject from time to time to reviews and audits by foreign taxing authorities of other jurisdictions in which we conduct business throughout the world.

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We may be held responsible for certain taxes or assessments relating to the activities of our distributors, which could harm our financial condition and operating results.

Our distributors are subject to taxation, and in some instances, legislation or governmental agencies impose an obligation on us to collect taxes, such as value added taxes, and to maintain appropriate records. In addition, we are subject to the risk in some jurisdictions of being responsible for social security and similar taxes with respect to our distributors. In the event that local laws and regulations or the interpretation of local laws and regulations change to require us to treat our independent distributors as employees, or that our distributors are deemed by local regulatory authorities in one or more of the jurisdictions in which we operate to be our employees rather than independent contractors under existing laws and interpretations, we may be held responsible for social security and related taxes in those jurisdictions, plus any related assessments and penalties, which could harm our financial condition and operating results. If our distributors were deemed to be employees rather than independent contractors, we would also face the threat of increased vicarious liability for their actions.

The loss of or a disruption in our manufacturing and distribution operations could adversely affect our business.

As of December 31, 2012, our principal properties consist of distribution centers where offices are located and where finished merchandise is packed and shipped to distributors in fulfillment of their orders, our worldwide headquarters, three research and development facilities and manufacturing facilities and approximately 40 stores in China.  Additionally, we also use third party manufacturers to manufacture certain of our products. As a company engaged in manufacturing, distribution and research and development on a global scale, we are subject to the risks inherent in such activities, including industrial accidents, environmental events, fires, strikes and other labor or industrial disputes, disruptions in logistics or information systems, loss or impairment of key manufacturing or distribution sites, product quality control, safety, licensing requirements and other regulatory or government issues, as well as natural disasters, pandemics, border disputes, acts of terrorism and other external factors over which we have no control. For example, the earthquake and tsunami in 2011 disrupted our operations in Japan and negatively impacted our operating results. These risks may be exacerbated by our efforts to increase facility consolidation covering our manufacturing, distribution and supply footprints or if we are unable to successfully enhance our disaster recovery planning. The loss of, or damage to, any of our facilities or centers, or that of our third party manufacturers could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Disruptions to transportation channels that we use to distribute our products to international warehouses may adversely affect our margins and profitability in those markets.

We may experience disruptions to the transportation channels used to distribute our products, including increased airport and shipping port congestion, a lack of transportation capacity, increased fuel expenses, and a shortage of manpower. Disruptions in our container shipments may result in increased costs, including the additional use of airfreight to meet demand. Although we have not recently experienced significant shipping disruptions, we continue to watch for signs of upcoming congestion. Congestion to ports can affect previously negotiated contracts with shipping companies, resulting in unexpected increases in shipping costs and reduction in our net sales.

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Our markets are intensely competitive, and market conditions and the strengths of competitors may harm our business.

The markets for our products are intensely competitive. Our results of operations may be harmed by market conditions and competition in the future. Many competitors have much greater name recognition and financial resources than we have, which may give them a competitive advantage. For example, our Nu Skin products compete directly with branded, premium retail products. We also compete with other direct selling organizations. Because of regulatory restrictions concerning claims about the efficacy of personal care products and dietary supplements, we may have difficulty differentiating our products from our competitors' products, and competing products entering the personal care and nutritional market could harm our revenue.

We also compete with other direct selling companies to attract and retain our distributors and consumers. Some of these competitors have a longer operating history and greater visibility, name recognition and financial resources than we do. Some of our competitors have also adopted and could continue to adopt some of our successful business strategies, including our global sales compensation plan. Consequently, to successfully compete in this industry, and attract and retain our distributors and consumers, we must ensure that our business opportunities and sales compensation plan is financially rewarding. We believe we have significant competitive advantages, but we cannot assure that we will be able to continue to successfully compete in this industry.

We may incur product liability claims that could harm our business.

As a result of the type of products that we sell we may be subject to various product liability claims, including that the products failed to meet quality or manufacturing specifications, contain contaminants, include inadequate instructions as to their proper use, or the products include inadequate warnings concerning side effects and interactions with other substances or for persons with health conditions or allergies. Product liability claims could increase our costs, and adversely affect our business and financial results.  As we continue to offer an increasing number of new products through larger scale limited-time offers our product liability risk may increase.

If our distributors or employees provide improper or inappropriate advice regarding our products, their appropriate use or safety, we may be subject to additional product liability.

We have elected to self-insure our product liability risks.  We continue to periodically evaluate whether we can and should obtain product liability insurance. Based upon our current approach to product liability risk management if any of our products are found to cause any injury or damage or we become subject to product liability claims, we will be subject to the full amount of liability associated with any injuries or damages. This liability could be substantial and may exceed our existing reserves and harm our business.

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We are involved, and may become involved in the future, in legal proceedings that, if adversely adjudicated or settled, could adversely affect our financial results.

We are and may in the future become party to litigation. In general, litigation claims can be expensive and time consuming to bring or defend against and could result in settlements or damages that could significantly affect financial results. We are currently vigorously contesting certain of these litigation claims. However, it is not possible to predict the final resolution of the litigation to which we currently are or may in the future become party to, and the impact of certain of these matters on our business, results of operations and financial condition could be material.

We are currently involved in two separate disputes with customs authorities in Japan with respect to duty assessments on several of our Pharmanex nutritional products. The first dispute relates to additional customs assessments made by Yokohama Customs for the period of October 2002 through June 2005. In March 2011, the Tokyo District Court upheld the additional assessments. As a result of this decision, we recorded an expense for the full amount of the disputed assessments, or $32.8 million, in the first quarter of 2011. We appealed the matter to the Tokyo High Court, which upheld the decision of the Tokyo District Court in November 2012. We continue to disagree with this decision and have appealed the matter to the Supreme Court of Japan. The second dispute in Japan relates to additional customs assessments made by Yokohama Customs for the period of October 2006 through September 2009 in connection with post-importation audits, as well as the disputed portion of our import duties from October 2009 to the present, which we have or will hold in bond or pay under protest. The aggregate amount of these assessments and disputed duties was 4.0 billion Japanese yen as of December 31, 2012 (approximately $46.7 million), net of any recovery of consumption taxes. In addition, we are currently being required to post a bond or make a deposit equal to the difference between our declared duties and the amount the customs authorities have determined we should be paying on all current imports. We are now pursuing this matter in Tokyo District Court. Any adverse rulings in these matters could materially impact our results. Please refer to Item 3. "Legal Proceedings" for more information regarding these litigation matters.

In addition, our intellectual property may infringe on the rights of others, resulting in costly litigation. In recent years, there has been significant litigation in the United States involving patents and other intellectual property rights. In particular, there has been an increase in the filing of suits alleging infringement of intellectual property rights, which pressure defendants into entering settlement arrangements quickly to dispose of such suits, regardless of their merit. Other companies or individuals may allege that we, or our distributors, consumers, licensees or other parties indemnified by us infringe on their intellectual property rights. Even if we believe that such claims are without merit, defending such intellectual property litigation can be costly, distract management's attention and resources, and the outcome is inherently uncertain. Claims of intellectual property infringement also might require us to redesign affected products, enter into costly settlement or license agreements, pay costly damage awards, or face a temporary or permanent injunction prohibiting us from marketing or selling certain of our products. Any of these results may adversely affect our financial condition.

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If we are unable to protect our intellectual property rights, our ability to compete could be negatively impacted.

The market for our products depends to a significant extent upon the value associated with our product innovations and our brand equity. We rely upon patent, copyright, trademark and trade secret laws in the United States and similar laws in other countries, and non-disclosure, confidentiality and other types of agreements with our employees, distributors, consumers, suppliers and other parties, to establish, maintain and enforce our intellectual property rights. Despite these measures, any of our intellectual property rights could be challenged, invalidated, circumvented or misappropriated, or such intellectual property rights may not be sufficient to permit us to provide competitive advantages, which could result in costly product redesign efforts, discontinuance of certain product offerings or other competitive harm. In addition, the laws of certain foreign countries, including emerging markets such as China, may not protect our intellectual property rights to the same extent as the laws of the United States.  The costs required to protect our patents and trademarks may be substantial. We have filed patent applications to protect our intellectual property rights in our new technologies, however, there can be no assurance that our patent applications will be approved, that any patents issued will adequately protect our intellectual property, or that such patents will not be challenged by third parties or found by a judicial authority to be invalid or unenforceable. Moreover, many of our products rely on technologies developed or licensed by third parties, and we may not be able to obtain or continue to obtain licenses and technologies from these third parties on reasonable terms or at all.

To enforce and protect our intellectual property rights, we may initiate litigation against third parties, such as patent infringement suits or interference proceedings. Any lawsuits that we initiate could be expensive, take significant time and divert management's attention from other business concerns. Litigation also puts our patents at risk of being invalidated or interpreted narrowly and our patent applications at risk of not issuing. Additionally, we may provoke third parties to assert claims against us. We may not prevail in any lawsuits that we initiate and the damages or other remedies awarded, if any, may not be commercially valuable. The occurrence of any of these events may adversely affect our financial condition.

If we are unable to protect the confidentiality of our proprietary information and know-how, the value of our products could be adversely affected.

In addition to patented technology, we rely on our unpatented proprietary technology, trade secrets, processes and know-how. Despite these measures, any of our intellectual property rights could be challenged, invalidated, circumvented or misappropriated. We generally seek to protect this information by confidentiality, non-disclosure and assignment of invention agreements with our employees, consultants, scientific advisors and third parties. Our employees may leave to work for competitors.  These agreements may be breached, and we may not have adequate remedies for any such breach. In addition, our trade secrets may be disclosed to or otherwise become known or be independently developed by competitors. To the extent that our current or former employees, consultants or contractors use intellectual property owned by others in their work for us, disputes may arise as to the rights in related or resulting know-how and inventions. If, for any of the above reasons, our intellectual property is disclosed or misappropriated, it would harm our ability to protect our rights and adversely affect our financial condition.

We may be subject to claims that we, or our employees, have inadvertently or otherwise used or disclosed alleged trade secrets or other proprietary information of our employees' former employers.

We employ individuals who were previously employed at other personal care product or nutritional supplement companies, including our competitors or potential competitors. To the extent that our employees are involved in research areas that are similar to those in which they were involved with their former employers, we may be subject to claims that such employees have inadvertently or otherwise used or disclosed the alleged trade secrets or other proprietary information of the former employers. Litigation may be necessary to defend against such claims.

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Any future acquisitions may expose us to additional risks.

From time to time we review acquisition prospects that would complement our current product offerings, increase the size and geographic scope of our operations or otherwise offer growth and operating efficiency opportunities. The financing for any of these acquisitions could dilute the interests of our stockholders, result in an increase in our indebtedness or both. Acquisitions may entail numerous risks, including:

•	difficulties in assimilating acquired operations or products, including the loss of key employees from acquired businesses and disruption to our direct selling channel;

•	diversion of management's attention from our core business;

•	adverse effects on existing business relationships with our suppliers, distributors and consumers; and

•	risks of entering markets in which we have limited or no prior experience.

Our failure to successfully complete the integration of any acquired business could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results. In addition, there can be no assurance that we will be able to identify suitable acquisition candidates or consummate acquisitions on favorable terms.

Any failure of our internal controls over financial reporting or our compliance efforts could harm our stock price and our financial and operating results or could result in fines or penalties.

We have implemented internal controls to help ensure the accuracy of our financial reporting and have implemented compliance policies and programs to help ensure that our employees and distributors comply with applicable laws and regulations.  Our internal audit team regularly audits our internal controls and various aspects of our business and we regularly assess the effectiveness of our internal controls.  There can be no assurance, however, that these internal or external assessments and audits will identify all significant or material weaknesses in our internal controls.  Any failure to correct a weakness in internal controls could result in the disclosure of a material weakness. If a material weakness results in a material misstatement in our financial results, we may also have to restate our financial statements.

From time to time, we initiate further investigations into our business operations based on the results of these audits or complaints, questions, or allegations made by employees or other parties regarding our business practices and operations.  In addition, our business and operations may be investigated by applicable government authorities.  In the event any of these investigations identify material violations of applicable laws by our employees or our distributors, we could be subject to adverse publicity, fines, penalties or loss of licenses or permits.

System failures could harm our business.

With global operations and a complex sales compensation plan, our business is highly dependent on efficiently functioning information technology systems. Our systems may be damaged or disrupted by fires, floods, earthquakes or other natural disasters, telecommunications failures, break-ins, sabotage, intentional acts of vandalism and similar misconduct. We have adopted and implemented a Business Continuity/Disaster Recovery Plan. Our data is archived and stored at third-party secure sites and we have recovery sites for certain critical data and operations. Growth in our business could also strain our systems. There can be no assurance that our systems will not be significantly damaged or disrupted or that our systems will be adequate to meet our future business needs.

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Epidemics and other crises could negatively impact our business.

Due to the person-to-person nature of direct selling, our results of operations could be harmed if the fear of a communicable and rapidly spreading disease or other crises such as natural disasters result in travel restrictions or cause people to avoid group meetings or gatherings or interaction with other people. For example, a SARS epidemic in Asia negatively impacted our revenue in 2003. It is difficult to predict the impact on our business, if any, of a recurrence of SARS, the emergence of new epidemics, or other crises. In addition, most of our Pharmanex nutritional supplement revenue is generated from products that are encapsulated in bovine- and/or porcine-sourced gel capsules. If we experience production difficulties, quality control problems, or shortages in supply in connection with bovine or porcine related health concerns, this could result in additional risk of product shortages or write-offs of inventory. We may be unable to introduce our products in some markets if we are unable to obtain the necessary regulatory approvals or if any product ingredients are prohibited, which could harm our business.

The market price of our Class A common stock is subject to significant fluctuations due to a number of factors that are beyond our control.

Our Class A common stock closed at $30.08 per share on January 31, 2011 and closed at $42.36 per share on January 31, 2013. During this two-year period, our Class A common stock traded as low as $27.50 per share and as high as $62.02 per share. Many factors, including some we may be unable to control, could cause the market price of our Class A common stock to fall. Some of these factors include:

•	fluctuations in our quarterly operating results;

•	the sale of shares of Class A common stock by significant stockholders;

•	general trends in the market for our products;

•	acquisitions by us or our competitors;

•	economic or currency exchange issues in markets in which we operate;

•	changes in estimates of our operating performance or changes in recommendations by securities analysts;

•	speculative trading, including short selling and options trading;

•	rumors or publicity related to our business, products or industry; and

•	general business and political conditions.

Broad market fluctuations could also lower the market price of our Class A common stock regardless of our actual operating performance.

 

 

None.

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Our principal properties consist of the following:

Operational Facilities.  These facilities include administrative offices, walk-in centers, and warehouse/distribution centers.  Our operational facilities measuring 30,000 square feet or more include the following:

•	our worldwide headquarters in Provo, Utah;

•	our worldwide distribution center/warehouse in Provo, Utah; and

•	our distribution center in Tokyo, Japan.

Manufacturing Facilities.  Each of our manufacturing facilities measure 30,000 square feet or more, and include the following:

•	our nutritional supplement manufacturing facility in Zhejiang Province, China;

•	our personal care manufacturing facility in Shanghai, China;

•	our VitaMeal manufacturing facility in Jixi, Heilongjiang Province, China;

•	our herbal extraction facility in Zhejiang Province, China;

Stores.  As of December 31, 2012, we operated approximately 40 stores throughout China.

Research and Development Centers.  We operate three research and development centers, one in Provo, Utah, one in Shanghai, China, and one in Beijing, China.  In 2011, we began construction on state-of-the-art innovation centers at our corporate headquarters in Provo, Utah and our Greater China regional headquarters in Shanghai, China. We believe the Provo and Shanghai facilities will be substantially completed in 2013.

We own our corporate headquarters buildings, distribution center and research and development center located in Provo, Utah. We also own personal care and nutritional supplement plants in China, and a few other minor facilities. We currently lease the other properties described above.  We believe that our existing and planned facilities are adequate for our current operations in each of our existing markets.

We are currently involved in two separate disputes with customs authorities in Japan with respect to duty assessments on several of our Pharmanex nutritional products. The first dispute relates to additional customs assessments made by Yokohama Customs for the period of October 2002 through June 2005. The dispute relates to whether we used the proper valuation method for these products in determining the applicable customs duties. The primary legal issue in the case is whether the relevant import transaction is a sale between our third party manufacturers and our Japan subsidiary, or a sale between our United States subsidiary and our Japan subsidiary. In 1999, we worked with the Yokohama Customs authorities to restructure the form of the relevant transactions in order to have the import transaction be a sale between our third party manufacturers and our Japan subsidiary, and thus have the duties assessed on the price paid to our third party manufacturers. With the input and guidance of the Yokohama Customs authorities, we restructured the form of the transaction and the agreements between the relevant parties based on these discussions so that our United States subsidiary would be acting on behalf of our Japan subsidiary with respect to the purchase of these products rather than as a buyer/seller. Our Japan subsidiary entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with each of our third party manufacturers of the relevant products, which provided that our Japan subsidiary was the purchaser of the products and that our United States subsidiary was acting for and on behalf of our Japan subsidiary with respect to these products. Our Japan subsidiary also entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with our United States subsidiary documenting the same agency relationship. We believe that these legal documents establish that our United States subsidiary was acting as an agent and not buyer and seller of the relevant products. The additional assessment of duties by Yokohama Customs was based on its re-characterization of the transaction as a sale between our United States subsidiary and our Japan subsidiary for custom law purposes despite the legal form of the transaction. We do not believe the legal documentation supports the re-characterization of these transactions. We filed a complaint in the Tokyo District Court Civil Action Section in December 2006 to reverse the additional assessments. In March 2011, the Tokyo District Court denied our complaint and upheld the additional assessments. As a result of this decision, we recorded an expense for the full amount of the disputed assessments, or $32.8 million, in the first quarter of 2011. The charge was a non-cash item, as we were previously required to pay the assessments. We appealed the matter to the Tokyo High Court, which upheld the decision of the Tokyo District Court in November 2012. We continue to disagree with this decision and have appealed the matter to the Supreme Court of Japan.

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In September 2011, Elizabeth Craig ("Craig") and Brady Harper ("Harper") filed suit against us and our subsidiaries in the Utah Fourth District Court for malicious prosecution, abuse of criminal process, defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress.  In aggregate, the proposed complaint would seek damages in excess of approximately $42 million and punitive damages in the amount of $200 million.  We believe the complaint is without merit and intend to vigorously defend ourselves.  In August 2011, we filed suit in the Utah Fourth District Court against Scott Lazerson ("Lazerson") and Nu Lite Sales, LLC ("Nu Lite"), an entity owned by Craig and Harper, alleging fraud, negligent misrepresentation, conversion and unjust enrichment and seeking declaratory and equitable relief.  A counterclaim was filed by Nu Lite that includes factual allegations similar to those set forth in the complaint filed on behalf of Craig and Harper.  The counterclaim alleges conversion and tortious interference with prospective business relations, and seeks aggregate damages in excess of $2 million and punitive damages in the amount of $20 million.  We believe the counterclaim is without merit. 

From time to time, we are involved in legal proceedings arising in the ordinary course of business. We believe that the resolution of these matters will not have a negative material effect on our consolidated financial position, results of operations or liquidity.

 

 

 

 

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Purchases of Equity Securities by the Issuer

 

 

 

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Stock Performance Graph

Set forth below is a line graph comparing the cumulative total stockholder return (stock price appreciation plus dividends) on our Class A Common Stock with the cumulative total return of the S&P 500 Index, a market-weighted index of publicly traded peers (the " Peer Group") for the period from December 31, 2007 through December 31, 2012. The graph assumes that $100 was invested in each of the Class A Common Stock, the S&P 500 Index, and each of the indexes of publicly traded peers on December 31, 2007 and that all dividends were reinvested. The Peer Group consists of the following companies, which compete in our industry and product categories: Avon Products, Inc., Estee Lauder, Tupperware Corporation, Herbalife LTD., USANA Health Sciences, Inc., Nature's Sunshine Products, Inc., Weight Watchers International, Inc., Mannatech, Inc. and Elizabeth Arden, Inc.

 

The following selected consolidated financial data as of and for the years ended December 31, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 have been derived from the audited consolidated financial statements:

 

		Year Ended December 31,
		2008				2009				2010				2011				2012
		(U.S. dollars in thousands, except per share data and cash dividends)
Income Statement Data:
Revenue		$	1,247,646			$	1,331,058			$	1,537,259			$	1,743,991			$	2,169,664
Cost of sales			228,597				243,648				272,431				322,624	(1)			353,152
Gross profit			1,019,049				1,087,410				1,264,828				1,421,367				1,816,512
Operating expenses:
Selling expenses			533,151				559,605				646,348				751,448				970,219
General and administrative expenses			360,470				369,368				401,418				436,177				505,449
Restructuring charges			—				10,724				—				—				—
Total operating expenses			893,621				939,697				1,047,766				1,187,625				1,475,668
Operating income			125,428				147,713				217,062				233,742				340,844
Other income (expense), net			(24,775	)			(6,589	)			(9,449	)			(6,973	)			4,398
Income before provision for income taxes			100,653				141,124				207,613				226,769				345,242
Provision for income taxes			35,306				51,279				71,562				73,439				123,597
Net income		$	65,347			$	89,845			$	136,051			$	153,330			$	221,645
Net income per share:
Basic		$	1.03			$	1.42			$	2.18			$	2.47			$	3.66
Diluted		$	1.02			$	1.40			$	2.11			$	2.38			$	3.52
Weighted-average common shares outstanding (000s):
Basic			63,510				63,333				62,370				62,066				60,600
Diluted			64,132				64,296				64,547				64,546				63,025
Balance Sheet Data (at end of period):
Cash and cash equivalents and current investments		$	114,586			$	158,045			$	230,337			$	290,701			$	333,403
Working capital			124,036				152,731				206,078				288,916				279,300
Total assets			709,772				748,449				892,224				990,956				1,152,907
Current portion of long-term debt			30,196				35,400				27,865				28,608				39,019
Long-term debt			158,760				121,119				133,013				107,944				154,963
Stockholders' equity			316,180				375,687				471,249				574,236				590,612
Cash dividends declared			0.44				0.46				0.50				0.59				0.80
Supplemental Operating Data (at end of period):
Approximate number of Actives(2)			761,000				761,000				799,000				855,000				946,000
Number of Sales Leaders(3)			30,588				32,939				35,676				41,816				51,790

 

 

 

 

We are a leading, global direct selling company with operations in 53 markets worldwide.  We develop and distribute innovative, premium-quality anti-aging personal care products and nutritional supplements under our Nu Skin and Pharmanex category brands, respectively.  Over the last several years, we have introduced new Pharmanex nutritional supplements and Nu Skin personal care products under our ageLOC anti-aging brand. We strive to secure competitive advantage in four key areas: our people, our products, the culture we promote, and the business opportunities we offer. As of December 31, 2012, we had nearly 950,000 active distributors and consumers who purchased products directly from the company during the previous three months ("Actives").  More than 51,000 of our Actives were qualified sales leaders ("Sales Leaders"), who are the core of our sales network and play a key role in the growth and development of our business. In 2012, we posted record revenue of $2.2 billion.  Revenue in 2012 grew 24%, driven by sustained interest in our product portfolio, including our ageLOC anti-aging products, growth in Sales Leaders and Actives, and alignment around our product launch process. Approximately 89% of our 2012 revenue came from markets outside the United States.  While we have become more geographically diverse over the past decade, Japan, our largest revenue market, accounted for approximately 23% of our 2012 total revenue.  Due to the size of our foreign operations, our results are often impacted by foreign currency fluctuations.  In addition, our results are generally impacted by global economic, political, demographic and business trends and conditions.

Our revenue depends on the number and productivity of our Sales Leaders and Actives.  We have been successful in attracting and motivating our distributors by:

•	providing compelling initiatives and strong support; and

Our distributors market and sell our products and recruit others based on the distinguishing benefits and innovative characteristics of our products.  As a result, it is vital to our business that we continuously leverage our research and development resources to develop and introduce innovative products and provide our distributors with an attractive portfolio of products.  Since 2008, we have successfully introduced a suite of innovative ageLOC anti-aging skin care and nutritional products, including our ageLOC Transformation daily skin care system, Galvanic Spa Gels with ageLOC, ageLOC Galvanic Spa Body Shaping Gel and ageLOC Dermatic Effects Body Contouring Lotion, ageLOC Vitality and ageLOC R² anti-aging nutritional supplements. We are developing additional ageLOC anti-aging products for the future, including a new ageLOC weight management system. We currently plan to introduce our new ageLOC weight management system in the second half of 2013. We also offer unique initiatives, products, and business tools, such as our ageLOC Galvanic Spa Systems and Pharmanex BioPhotonic Scanner, to help distributors effectively differentiate our earnings opportunity and product offerings.  Any delays or difficulties in introducing compelling products or attractive initiatives or tools into our markets may have a negative impact on our revenue and our number of Actives and Sales Leaders.

 

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Although our product launch process may vary by market, we generally introduce new products to our distributors and consumers in all markets where the products are registered, through limited-time offers in connection with global and regional distributor events. The limited-time offers typically generate significant distributor activity and a high level of purchasing, which may result in a higher than normal increase in revenue during the quarter of the limited-time offer and skew year-over-year and sequential comparisons. We believe our product launch process attracts new people to our business, driving growth in our Sales Leaders and Actives. For example, limited-time offers of ageLOC R² and ageLOC Body Spa and related products in connection with a series of regional events generated approximately $122 million in our Greater China region and $68 million in our South Asia/Pacific region during the second and third quarters of 2012. We typically make a new product generally available within a year following the regional limited-time offers. We currently plan to introduce a new ageLOC weight management system in most of our markets through a global limited-time offer in the second half of 2013, followed by regional limited-time offers in most of our markets during the following year. We currently anticipate that the size of these limited-time offers may increase as our Actives grow and the percentage of Actives participating in these limited-time offers increases. However, we cannot be sure whether these limited-time offers will continue to generate distributor interest and participation, or what the short- and long-term impact will be on our business. We may experience difficulty effectively managing growth associated with these limited-time offers. In addition, the size and condensed schedule of these global product launches increases pressure on our supply chain. If we are unable to accurately forecast sales levels in each market, obtain sufficient ingredients or produce a sufficient supply to meet global demand, we may incur higher expedited shipping costs and we may experience stockouts, which could negatively impact the enthusiasm of our distributors and consumers. Conversely, if we over forecast demand for a global product launch, we could incur increased inventory write-offs. Our order processing systems could also have difficulties handling the high volume of orders generated by limited-time offers. Although our previous limited-time offers have not materially affected our product return rate, these events may increase our product return rate in the future.

Our global sales network helps us to rapidly introduce products and penetrate our markets with modest up-front promotional expense.  Similar to other companies in our industry, we experience a high level of turnover among our distributors.  As a result, it is important that we regularly introduce innovative and compelling products and initiatives in order to maintain a compelling business opportunity that will attract new people to our business.  We have also developed, and continue to promote in many of our markets, product subscription and loyalty programs that provide incentives for consumers to commit to purchase a specific amount of products on a monthly basis.  All purchases under these programs are subject to our standard product payment and return policies. We believe these subscription and loyalty programs have improved consumer retention, have had a stabilizing impact on revenue, and have helped generate recurring sales.  Subscription and loyalty programs represented 58% of our non-limited-time offer revenue in 2012.

Our business is subject to various laws and regulations globally, particularly with respect to network marketing activities, cosmetics, and nutritional supplements.  Accordingly, we face certain risks, including any improper claims or activities of our distributors or any inability to obtain or maintain necessary product registrations.

 

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Revenue by Region

 

Cost of sales primarily consists of:

•	amortization expenses associated with certain products and services such as the Pharmanex BioPhotonic Scanners that are leased to distributors;

We source the majority of our products from third-party manufacturers located in the United States.  Due to Chinese government restrictions on the importation of finished goods applicable to the current scope of our business in China, we are required to manufacture the bulk of our own products for distribution in China. Cost of sales and gross profit, on a consolidated basis, may fluctuate as a result of changes in the ratio between self-manufactured products and products sourced from third-party suppliers.  In addition, because we purchase a significant majority of our goods in U.S. dollars and recognize revenue in local currencies, our gross margin is subject to exchange rate risks.  Because our gross margins vary from product to product and due to higher pricing in some markets such as Japan, changes in product mix and geographic revenue mix can impact our gross margin, on a consolidated basis.

 

 

 

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Distributors also have the opportunity to make profits by purchasing products from us at a discount and selling them to consumers with a mark-up.  We do not account for nor pay additional commissions on these mark-ups received by distributors.  In many markets, we also allow individuals who are not distributors, whom we refer to as "preferred customers," to buy products directly from us at a discount. We pay commissions on preferred customer purchases to the referring distributors.

General and administrative expenses include:

Labor expenses are the most significant portion of our general and administrative expenses.  Promotion and advertising expenses include costs of distributor conventions held in various markets worldwide, which we expense in the period in which they are incurred.  Because our various distributor conventions are not held during each fiscal year, or in the same period each year, their impact on our general and administrative expenses may vary from year to year and from quarter to quarter.  For example, we held our global convention in October 2011 and will have another global convention in the fall of 2013 as we currently plan to hold a global convention every other year.  In addition, we hold regional conventions and conventions in our major markets at different times during the year.  These conventions have significant expenses associated with them.  Because we have not incurred expenses for these conventions during every fiscal year or in comparable interim periods, year-over-year comparisons have been impacted accordingly.

Provision for income taxes depends on the statutory tax rates in each of the jurisdictions in which we operate.  For example, statutory tax rates in 2012 were approximately 16.5% in Hong Kong, 17% in Taiwan, 24.2% in South Korea, 46.1% in Japan and 25% in China.  We are subject to taxation in the United States at the statutory corporate federal tax rate of 35% and we pay taxes in multiple states within the United States at various tax rates.  Our overall effective tax rate was 35.8% for the year ended December 31, 2012.

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Critical Accounting Policies

The following critical accounting policies and estimates should be read in conjunction with our audited Consolidated Financial Statements and related Notes thereto.  Management considers our critical accounting policies to be the recognition of revenue, accounting for income taxes, accounting for intangible assets and accounting for stock-based compensation.  In each of these areas, management makes estimates based on historical results, current trends and future projections.

Revenue. We recognize revenue when products are shipped, which is when title and risk of loss pass to our independent distributors and preferred customers who are our consumers. With some exceptions in various countries, we offer a return policy whereby distributors can return unopened and unused product for up to 12 months subject to a 10% restocking fee.  Reported revenue is net of returns, which have historically been less than 5% of annual revenue.  A reserve for product returns is accrued based on historical experience.  We classify selling discounts as a reduction of revenue.  Our selling expenses include commissions paid under our global sales compensation plan, which is focused on remunerating distributors based primarily upon the selling efforts of the distributors and/or the volume of products purchased by their sales organization, and not their personal purchases.

Through our product subscription and loyalty programs, which can vary from market to market, participants who commit to purchase on a monthly basis receive a discount from suggested retail or wholesale prices, as applicable. We apply this discount at the time of each purchase and not through a larger discount on the initial purchase. Participants may cancel their commitment at any time, however some markets charge a one-time early cancellation fee. All purchases under these programs are subject to our standard product payment and return policies. In accordance with ASC 605-50, we classify selling discounts and rebates, as a reduction of revenue at the time the sale is recorded.

Income Taxes.  We account for income taxes in accordance with the Income Taxes Topic of the Financial Accounting Standards Codification. These standards establish financial accounting and reporting standards for the effects of income taxes that result from an enterprise's activities during the current and preceding years.  We take an asset and liability approach for financial accounting and reporting of income taxes.  We pay income taxes in many foreign jurisdictions based on the profits realized in those jurisdictions, which can be significantly impacted by terms of intercompany transactions among our affiliates around the world.  Deferred tax assets and liabilities are created in this process.  As of December 31, 2012, we had net deferred tax assets of $35.6 million.  These net deferred tax assets assume sufficient future earnings will exist for their realization, as well as the continued application of current tax rates.  In certain foreign jurisdictions valuation allowances have been recorded against the deferred tax assets specifically related to use of net operating losses.  When we determine that there is sufficient taxable income to utilize the net operating losses, the valuation allowances will be released.  In the event we were to determine that we would not be able to realize all or part of our net deferred tax assets in the future, an adjustment to the deferred tax assets would be charged to earnings in the period such determination was made.

We file income tax returns in the U.S. federal jurisdiction, and in various state and foreign jurisdictions.  During 2011, we entered into a closing agreement with the United States Internal Revenue Service (the "IRS") for all adjustments for the 2005 through 2008 tax years.  As a result of entering into the closing agreement, we are no longer subject to tax examinations from the IRS for years before 2009. With a few exceptions, we are no longer subject to state and local income tax examination by tax authorities for the years before 2005.  In 2009, we entered into a voluntary program with the IRS called Compliance Assurance Process ("CAP").  The objective of CAP is to contemporaneously work with the IRS to achieve federal tax compliance and resolve all or most of the issues prior to filing of the tax return.  We have elected to participate in the CAP program for 2013 and may elect to continue participating in CAP for future tax years; we may withdraw from the program at any time.  In major foreign jurisdictions, we are no longer subject to income tax examinations for years before 2006.  Along with the IRS examination, we are currently under examination in certain foreign jurisdictions; however, the outcomes of those reviews are not yet determinable.

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At December 31, 2012, we had $9.0 million in unrecognized tax benefits of which $3.8 million, if recognized, would affect the effective tax rate.  In comparison, at December 31, 2011, we had $7.4 million in unrecognized tax benefits of which $3.1 million, if recognized, would affect the effective tax rate. During each of the years ended December 31, 2011 and 2012 we recognized approximately $(0.8) million and $0.3 million in interest and penalties expenses/(benefits), respectively. We had approximately $1.6 million, $0.8 million and $1.1 million of accrued interest and penalties related to uncertain tax positions at December 31, 2010, 2011 and 2012, respectively.  Interest and penalties related to uncertain tax positions are recognized as a component of income tax expense.

We are subject to regular audits by federal, state and foreign tax authorities.  These audits may result in additional tax liabilities.  We account for such contingent liabilities in accordance with relevant accounting standards and believe we have appropriately provided for income taxes for all years.  Several factors drive the calculation of our tax reserves.  Some of these factors include: (i) the expiration of various statutes of limitations; (ii) changes in tax law and regulations; (iii) issuance of tax rulings; and (iv) settlements with tax authorities.  Changes in any of these factors may result in adjustments to our reserves, which would impact our reported financial results.

Intangible Assets. Acquired intangible assets may represent indefinite-lived assets, determinable-lived intangibles, or goodwill. Of these, only the costs of determinable-lived intangibles are amortized to expense over their estimated life. The value of indefinite-lived intangible assets and residual goodwill is not amortized, but is tested at least annually for impairment. Our impairment testing for goodwill is performed separately from our impairment testing of indefinite-lived intangibles. We test goodwill for impairment, at least annually, by reviewing the book value compared to the fair value at the reportable unit level. We test individual indefinite-lived intangibles at least annually by reviewing the individual book values compared to the fair value.  Considerable management judgment is necessary to measure fair value. We did not recognize any impairment charges for goodwill or intangible assets during the periods presented.

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Results of Operations

The following table sets forth our operating results as a percentage of revenue for the periods indicated:

 

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*Includes $32.8 million related to an adverse decision in the Japan customs litigation.

 

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Foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations positively impacted revenue in the Greater China region by 2% in 2012.

Strong revenue and sales force growth in the Greater China region, including significant growth in China, was driven by continued interest in our business opportunity and our strong product portfolio, including our ageLOC products. The region was positively impacted by very successful sales initiatives and excitement surrounding a regional limited-time offer of our ageLOC R² and our ageLOC Galvanic Body Spa and related products in connection with our Greater China regional convention. This regional limited-time offer generated approximately $122 million in revenue in the second and third quarters of 2012.

 

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Local currency revenue in China and Hong Kong and Taiwan were up 70%, 110% and 26%, respectively, in 2012 compared to 2011. Hong Kong benefited from the limited-time offer of our new ageLOC R² and our ageLOC Galvanic Body Spa and related products at our regional convention in Hong Kong, as we recorded the convention sales in Hong Kong. China reported an 88% and 79% increase in preferred customers and number of Sales Leaders, respectively, compared to the prior-year period. Sales Leaders and Actives in Taiwan increased 15% compared to the prior-year period.  Sales Leaders and Actives in Hong Kong were up 43% and 19%, respectively, compared to 2011.

South Asia/Pacific.  The following table sets forth revenue for the South Asia/Pacific region (U.S. dollars in millions):

 

Foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations negatively impacted revenue in South Asia/Pacific by 2% in 2012 compared to the prior year. Revenue growth in this region reflects continued interest in our strong product portfolio, including our ageLOC and TRA weight management products. We introduced our ageLOC R² and our ageLOC Galvanic Body Spa and related products through a limited-time offer in connection with the South Asia/Pacific regional convention in the first half of 2012. This regional limited-time offer generated approximately $68 million in revenue in the second and third quarters of 2012.We began operations in Vietnam in the third quarter of 2012. Following strong growth in this region over the past several years, including significant growth related to limited-time offers, we experienced some softness in this region in the fourth quarter, with sales down 3% compared to the same prior-year period. Sales Leaders and Actives in the region decreased 11% and 1% compared to the prior year.

 

 

 

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Gross profit as a percentage of revenue in 2012 increased to 83.7% compared to 81.5% in 2011.  In March 2011, the Tokyo District Court upheld a disputed $32.8 million customs assessment on certain of our products imported into Japan. As a result of this decision, we recorded an expense within cost of sales for the full amount of the disputed assessments in the first quarter of 2011. Excluding this $32.8 million non-cash charge, gross profit as a percentage of revenue for 2011 was 83.4%. Gross profit excluding Japan customs expense is a non-GAAP financial measure. See "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" below. We anticipate that our gross profit as a percentage of revenue will be approximately 83.6% in 2013.

 

Selling expenses increased as a percentage of revenue at 44.7% in 2012 compared to 43.1% in 2011. This increase reflects a higher commission percentage associated with Sales Leaders achieving larger monthly volumes during our limited-time-offers, sales network growth resulting in a higher number of Sales Leaders achieving sales incentive trips, and expenses associated with achievement of special incentive targets in Greater China and South Asia. We currently anticipate that our selling expenses as a percentage of revenue may increase in connection with limited-time offers in the second half of 2013.

 

Although our general and administrative expenses increased by $69.2 million, compared to the prior-year, as we grew our operations to support the growth of our business, general and administrative expenses decreased as a percentage of revenue to 23.3% in 2012 from 25.0% in 2011. This decrease is due primarily to our revenue growing at a faster rate than our general and administrative expenses.

Other income (expense), net was $4.4 million of income in 2012 compared to $7.0 million of expense in 2011.  The decrease in expense was due primarily to the impact of changes in foreign currency exchange rates.  Because it is impossible to predict foreign currency fluctuations, we cannot estimate the degree to which our other income expense will be impacted in the future.  Other income (expense), net also included approximately $5.2 million and $4.8 million in interest expense during 2012 and 2011, respectively.

Provision for income taxes increased to $123.6 million in 2012 from $73.4 million in 2011. The effective tax rate increased to 35.8% in 2012 from 32.4% of pre-tax income in 2011. The lower income tax rate in 2011 was primarily attributable to a one-time discrete tax benefit of $7.7 million associated with the effective settlement of an IRS audit for tax years 2005 – 2008. We anticipate our tax rate will be approximately 35.2% to 35.7% in 2013.

As a result of the foregoing factors, net income increased to $221.6 million compared to $153.3 million in 2011, or $173.8 million excluding $32.8 million (approximately $20.5 million, net of tax) in expense in 2011 associated with an adverse ruling in our Japan customs matter. Net income excluding Japan customs expense is a non-GAAP financial measure. See "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" below.

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2011 Compared to 2010

Revenue in 2011 increased 13% to $1.74 billion from $1.54 billion in 2010.  Our revenue growth in 2011 was driven by sustained interest in our product portfolio, including our ageLOC anti-aging products, as well as growth in our Sales Leaders and Actives and continued growth in our emerging markets, including China, South Asia and South Korea. We introduced our ageLOC R² anti-aging nutritional supplements and our ageLOC Galvanic Body Spa together with our ageLOC Galvanic Spa Body Shaping Gel and ageLOC Dermatic Effects Body Contouring Lotion through limited-time offers in connection with our global convention in the fourth quarter of 2011. These limited-time offers of ageLOC R² and ageLOC Galvanic Body Spa with its associated products generated over $78 million and $18 million, respectively, in the fourth quarter of 2011. Foreign currency exchange fluctuations had a 6% positive impact on revenue in 2011 compared to 2010. Our Sales Leaders and Actives globally grew 17% and 7%, respectively, compared to the prior-year period.

Earnings per share in 2011 increased to $2.38, or $2.69 excluding non-cash charges of $32.8 million associated with the first quarter Japan customs ruling, discussed below under Gross Profit, compared to $2.11 in 2010 on a diluted basis. Earnings per share excluding Japan customs expense is a non-GAAP financial measure. See "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" below.  The increase in earnings was largely the result of increased revenue, as discussed above, coupled with improved margins and controlled expenses.

 

 

 

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* Change less than 1%

 

Foreign currency fluctuations positively impacted revenue by 8% in this region compared to the prior-year period.

Excluding the impact of foreign currency fluctuations, revenue in Japan decreased 9% in 2011 compared to 2010.  The March 2011 natural disasters that occurred in Japan negatively impacted our sales in this market during 2011. Sales Leaders and Actives decreased 6% and 8%, respectively, in Japan compared to the prior year. Substantial regulatory and media scrutiny of the direct selling industry continued to negatively impact the industry and our business in 2011.

 

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Foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations positively impacted revenue in the Greater China region by 5% in 2011.

Strong revenue and sales force growth in the Greater China region, including significant growth in China, was driven by continued interest in our business opportunity and our strong product portfolio, including our ageLOC products. The region was also positively impacted by successful sales initiatives and excitement surrounding limited-time offers of our ageLOC R² and ageLOC Galvanic Body Spa and related products in the fourth quarter of 2011.

Local currency revenue in China and Hong Kong were up 59% and 16%, respectively, while Taiwan was down 5% in 2011 compared to 2010.  Hong Kong benefited from sales of our new ageLOC R² and our ageLOC Galvanic Body Spa and related products, as most of the sales in the region during the limited-time offer were recorded in Hong Kong, including sales to our distributors and consumers from outside Hong Kong. In 2011, China reported a 50% and 77% increase in preferred customers and number of sales representatives, respectively, compared to the prior-year period. Sales Leaders increased 15% in Taiwan and Actives remained level in 2011, compared to the prior-year period.  In 2011, Sales Leaders and Actives in Hong Kong were up 24% and 5%, respectively, compared to the prior-year period.

 

 

 

 

Foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations positively impacted revenue in EMEA by 5% in 2011 compared to the prior year.  On a local currency basis, revenue in EMEA grew by 4% in 2011 compared to 2010.  However, local currency revenue in EMEA decreased 6% year-over-year in the fourth quarter, primarily due to softness in our Sales Leaders and Actives numbers and difficulty obtaining regulatory approvals to introduce our ageLOC products in each of the markets in this region. In 2011, our Sales Leaders remained level and our Actives in the EMEA region increased by 2%, compared to 2010.

Gross profit as a percentage of revenue in 2011 decreased to 81.5% compared to 82.3% in 2010.  In March 2011, the Tokyo District Court upheld a disputed $32.8 million customs assessment on certain of our products imported into Japan. As a result of this decision, we recorded an expense within cost of sales for the full amount of the disputed assessments in the first quarter of 2011. The charge was a non-cash item, as we were previously required to pay the assessments. Excluding this $32.8 million non-cash charge, gross profit as a percentage of revenue for 2011 was 83.4%, reflecting supply chain improvements and foreign currency benefits. Gross profit excluding Japan customs expense is a non-GAAP financial measure. See "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" below.

Selling expenses increased as a percentage of revenue at 43.1% in 2011 compared to 42.1% in 2010. This increase reflects growth in the number of our Sales Leaders qualifying for various promotional sales incentives and trips.

General and administrative expenses decreased as a percentage of revenue to 25.0% in 2011 from 26.1% in 2010, primarily as a result of increased revenue and controlled expenses.

Other income (expense), net was $7.0 million of expense in 2011 compared to $9.4 million of expense in 2010. The decrease in expense was due primarily to the impact of changes in foreign currency exchange rates. Other income (expense), net also included approximately $4.8 million and $5.8 million in interest expense during 2011 and 2010, respectively.

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Provision for income taxes increased to $73.4 million in 2011 from $71.6 million in 2010. The effective tax rate decreased to 32.4% in 2011 from 34.5% of pre-tax income in 2010. The lower income tax rate was primarily attributable to a one-time discrete tax benefit of $7.7 million associated with the effective settlement of an IRS audit for tax years 2005 – 2008.  During the third quarter of 2011, we entered into a closing agreement with the IRS on the Extraterritorial Income Exclusion for the exportation of products outside the United States.

As a result of the foregoing factors, net income increased to $153.3 million in 2011, or $173.8 million excluding $32.8 million (approximately $20.5 million, net of tax) in Japan customs expense, compared to $136.1 million in 2010. Net income excluding Japan customs expense is a non-GAAP financial measure. See "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" below.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Historically, our principal uses of cash have included operating expenses, particularly selling expenses, and working capital (principally inventory purchases), as well as capital expenditures, stock repurchases, dividends, debt repayment, and the development of operations in new markets.  We have generally relied on cash flow from operations to fund operating activities, and we have at times incurred long-term debt in order to fund strategic transactions and stock repurchases.

We typically generate positive cash flow from operations due to favorable margins.  We generated $311.0 million in cash from operations in 2012 compared to $224.3 million in 2011. This increase in cash generated from operations is primarily due to the increase in revenue in 2012 as well as increased profitability.

As of December 31, 2012, working capital was $279.3 million compared to $288.9 million as of December 31, 2011.  Cash and cash equivalents, including current investments, at December 31, 2012 were $333.4 million compared to $290.7 million at December 31, 2011. The increase in cash was primarily the result of the increase in our cash generated from operations in 2012.

Capital expenditures in 2012 totaled $96.6 million, and we anticipate capital expenditures of approximately $150.0 million for 2013. This year-over-year increase reflects significant construction projects as noted below, which we currently anticipate will be completed in 2013. The capital expenditures in 2013 are primarily related to:

·	planning and construction of a new innovation center on our Provo campus and a new Greater China regional headquarters in Shanghai, China, and related real estate acquisitions and development projects;

·	the build-out and upgrade of leasehold improvements in our various markets, including stores in China; and

·	purchases of computer systems and software, including equipment and development costs.

 

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We currently have debt pursuant to various credit facilities and other borrowings.  Our book value for both the individual and consolidated debt included in the table below approximates fair value. The estimated fair value of our debt is based on interest rates available for debt with similar terms and remaining maturities. We have classified these instruments as Level 2 in the fair value hierarchy. The following table summarizes these debt arrangements as of December 31, 2012:

 

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(1)

On May 25, 2012, we (a) entered into an amendment and restatement of our multi-currency uncommitted shelf facility to extend the termination date to May 25, 2015 and provide for the issuance of up to $150 million in additional senior promissory notes; (b) entered into an amendment and restatement of our revolving credit facility to extend the termination date to May 9, 2014; and (c) terminated pledges and guarantees of our subsidiaries as security for the multi-currency uncommitted shelf facility, committed loan and revolving credit facility. The committed loan continues to be secured by deeds of trust with respect to our corporate headquarters and distribution center in Provo, Utah.

(2)

The current portion of our long-term debt (i.e. becoming due in the next 12 months) includes $12.4 million of the balance of our Japanese yen-denominated debt under the multi-currency uncommitted shelf facility, $8.6 million of the balance on our U.S. dollar denominated debt under the 2003 multi-currency uncommitted shelf facility and $18.0 million of our committed loan.

(3)	On May 31, 2012, we issued a series of yen denominated senior promissory notes under the multi-currency uncommitted shelf facility with an aggregate principal amount of 8.0 billion yen.

(4)

On February 5, 2013, we entered into a second amendment of the amended and restated credit agreement. The amendment increased the commitment amount from $25.0 million to $100.0 million from February 2013 to February 2014, after which the commitment amount returns to the current level over a three-month period.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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