NBTY Reports Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Ye...( RONKONKOMA N.Y. Nov. 11 /- NBTY I...),Health

RONKONKOMA, N.Y., Nov. 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- NBTY, Inc. (NYSE: NTY) (http://www.NBTY.com), a leading global manufacturer and marketer of nutritional supplements, today announced results for the fiscal fourth quarter and fiscal year ended September 30, 2008.

For the fiscal fourth quarter ended September 30, 2008, net sales were $602 million compared to net sales of $496 million for the fiscal fourth quarter ended September 30, 2007, an increase of $105 million, or 21%. Net income for the fiscal fourth quarter ended September 30, 2008 was $18 million, or $0.28 per diluted share, compared to net income of $48 million, or $0.70 per diluted share, for the fiscal fourth quarter ended September 30, 2007.

The decline in net income primarily reflects lower gross profit margin, Leiner acquisition-related integration costs, weak sales in the European Retail operation, investment in information technology infrastructure and increased freight costs. Overall gross profit margins for the fiscal fourth quarter of 2008 decreased to 44% from 52% for the fiscal fourth quarter of 2007. This gross margin compression was mainly due to higher raw material and other manufacturing costs which were not offset by higher prices charged to customers, increased promotional sales in the Wholesale/US Nutrition and Direct Response/E-Commerce operations and lower margins on Leiner private label products. NBTY acquired Leiner Health Products on July 14, 2008 and incurred acquisition-related integration costs of $12 million, consisting of severance costs, increased payroll and certain adjustments to acquired inventory. These adjustments were required under purchase accounting rules to record this inventory at fair value. This results in temporary compression in gross profit when this inventory is sold. The integration plan will result in the elimination of 250 Leiner associates. NBTY expects integration costs to continue over
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