Nu Skin Sees A Negative Impact of $0.01 to $0.02 to Q1 EPS from Japan Disaster

Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc. NUS announced today that the Tokyo District Court issued its ruling on a dispute between the company and Japan Customs. The District Court upheld previous assessments by Japan Customs of approximately $33 million in customs duties on the company's products from 2002 to 2005. "We strongly disagree with the court's decision and are likely to appeal," said Ritch Wood, chief financial officer for Nu Skin. "As a result of this decision, however, we plan to take a charge of approximately $33 million this quarter. The charge is a non-cash item as the company was previously required to pay the assessments." Given the recent natural disasters in Japan, the company also provided an update on the potential impact on its Japan operations. "Because our sales leaders work to achieve sales targets on a monthly basis, we will have a clearer understanding of the impact of the natural disasters after the end of the month. As of today, we believe that the first-quarter negative impact on our Japan revenue will be approximately $3 to $5 million and $0.01 to $0.02 to earnings per share. We believe this first-quarter impact will largely be offset by strength from our other markets and favorable foreign currency moves. We will continue to provide transparency by issuing a high-level update on the company's first-quarter results by April 6," concluded Hunt.