May 5, 2014 – Medifast reported Q1 results, and revenues were down across the board, in all divisions. Despite this,m the company remains upbeat on upcoming new product launches, a continued transition from company-owned center to franchises, has $77 mill. cash & equivalents on hand, and no debt.
For the first quarter ended March 31, 2014, Medifast net revenue decreased 10% to $86.5 million from net revenue of $96.0 million in the first quarter of the prior year. Revenue in the direct sales channel, Take Shape for Life, decreased 4% to $57.0 million in the first quarter of 2014 compared to $59.4 million in the same period last year. The decrease in revenue for Take Shape for Life was driven by a slight decrease in the number of health coaches and revenue per health coach. The company ended the first quarter with approximately 11,100 active health coaches and the average revenue per health coach per month for the quarter decreased to $1,626 compared to $1,720 in the first quarter of 2013.
The company expects second quarter 2014 net revenue to be in the range of approximately $85 to $88 million. Earnings per diluted share are expected to be in the range of $0.37 to $0.40 based on a 34% effective tax rate. For fiscal year 2014, the company reiterated its previous guidance of net revenue to be in the range of $340 to $380 million and earnings per diluted share in the range of $1.80 to $1.90.
Conference Call – Marketdata Commentary
Looks like the first quarter was tough for everyone in the market, including Medifast. The company cited very cautious consumer discretionary spending in Q1. it has stepped up its email marketing, and spent less on marketing this year, focusing it in Jan. and Feb. but pulling back in March. it will resume more normal marketing spend in April, and plans to roll out 27 new food products this year. The firm now has 63 company-owned outlets and 51 franchises. 12 franchises were acquired by Medex in Q1. The key to Medifast’s growth seems to be tied to recruiting and training more TSFL MLM health coaches, as that number has been stuck at 11,000 or so for a while now. TSFL has been their big growth engine in recent years.