Blyth, Inc. reported net income of $4.5 million, or $0.51 per diluted share, in the first quarter of 2010 ending 4/30/2010. The company earned net income of $2.4 million, or $0.27 per diluted share, in the first quarter of 2009.
Blyth, Inc. reported that revenues fell by 6% on a year over year basis, from $214.7 million in the first quarter of 2009 to $201.5 million in the quarter that just ended. The company said that on a local currency basis, revenues fell by 10%.
Blyth, Inc. said that the proportion of international revenues reached 49% of total revenues in the first quarter of 2010, up from 42% in last year’s first quarter.
The management of Blyth, Inc. is attempting to market more value oriented products to its customer base to deal with the lower volume of sales.
Robert B. Goergen, the CEO of Blyth, Inc., said, “We continued to experience downward sales pressure in our U.S. business units during the first quarter, driven by a sales decline in PartyLite U.S. as party cancellations continued to trend above historical rates and active independent sales consultants declined from prior year levels.”
Blyth, Inc. also reduced earnings guidance for fiscal 2011, and now expects earnings per share to be in a range of $2.90-$3.20, compared to the previous guidance of $3.20- $3.50. The company attributed the change to a weakening euro relative to the U.S. dollar, and lower discretionary spending by both U.S. and European consumers.
For more information on the company, go to www.blyth.com
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