Natrol, Inc. Announces Second Quarter 2006 Earnings

14/Aug/2006

Company posts second consecutive profitable quarter on continued margin improvement.

CHATSWORTH, CA, August 14, 2006—Natrol, Inc. (Nasdaq: NTOL), a leading manufacturer and marketer of nationally branded nutritional products, today announced that it had recorded operating income of $0.3 million and net income of $0.1 million on net sales of $16.6 million for its second quarter ending June 30, 2006.

Net sales in the second quarter decreased 15.5% or $3.0 million compared to net sales of $19.6 million in the second quarter of 2005. The Company recorded operating income of $0.6 million and net income of $0.3 million for the second quarter of 2005.

The Company’s gross margin increased to 43.4% for the second quarter from 38.4% in the same quarter of 2005. The gross margin also improved relative to the first quarter of 2006 when the Company recorded a gross margin of 40.7%

For the six months ended June 30, 2006, the Company recorded operating income of $0.3 million and net income of $0.2 million on net sales of $33.5 million compared to an operating loss of $0.3 million and a net loss of $0.3 million on net sales of $37.3 million for the six months ended June 30, 2005. The Company’s gross margin increased to 42.0% for the six months ended June 30, 2006 compared to 37.0% for the six months ended June 30, 2005.

“This is our second consecutive quarter of profitability,” said Wayne Bos, Natrol’s President and CEO, when making the announcement. “We have achieved profitability by being sharply-focused on the core business. Revenue was down during the second quarter because we did not introduce new products to the level that we did in same quarter of 2005 when we introduced approximately $2 million of new Natrol items. Repeat sales on these items have not been strong. It is a testament to the Natrol brand that our core, established products showed growth. A second contributing factor to our decline in sales was our intentional exit from unprofitable portions of the contract manufacturing business. This contributed to $0.5 million of the drop in sales. Lastly, our Prolab business remains soft, particularly outside the US and declined $1.3 million relative to the second quarter of 2005. We believe that our UK subsidiary, which will begin selling product during the latter part of the third quarter, will help strengthen Prolab sales.”

“To compensate for the top line, we have initiated prudent cost controls and begun many projects focused on improving our gross margins through improved purchasing and manufacturing efficiency. The many projects we have initiated regarding our gross margins are producing results, allowing us to better last year’s year-to-date performance, in spite of additional staffing at the executive level and the implementation of option expensing rules which cost us approximately $0.4 million compared to last year. Our positive performance year-to-date is a direct result of our following our business strategy, the first priority of which is to strengthen our core business.”


About Natrol

Founded in 1980, Natrol, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTOL) is a diversified nutrition company that manufactures and markets premium-branded nutritional products, herbal teas and sports fitness products under the Natrol®, Laci Le Beau® and Prolab® brands, respectively. Natrol markets more than 200 nutritional products designed to meet a wide range of consumer needs. The products are available at more than 54,000 food, drug, mass market and independent health food stores, catalogs and Internet sites, gyms and specialty stores nationally and in select foreign countries. For more information, visit www.natrol.com

The statements made in this press release which are not historical facts including statements regarding expectations for future growth of revenue and profits and trends concerning net sales, are forward looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. As a result of a number of factors, the Company's actual results could differ materially from those set forth in the forward looking statements. Certain factors that might cause Natrol's actual results to differ materially from those set forth in the forward looking statements include adverse trends in the dietary supplements industry, intense competition, adverse effects of unfavorable publicity regarding particular products or the Company’s industry generally, the Company’s dependence on the introduction of successful new products, the Company’s ability to gain market share and shelf space in each of its distribution channels, the Company experiencing high rates of product returns, and adverse government regulation, as well as those factors set forth under the heading “Risk Factors” in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2005 and in the Company’s other filings with Securities and Exchange Commission.

Contact:
Natrol, Inc.
Dennis Jolicoeur
Phone: 818-739-6000
Natrol, Inc. and Subsidiaries
Consolidated Balance Sheets
(In thousands, except share and per share data)
June 30
December 31
2006
2005
(unaudited)
Assets
Current assets:
Cash $ 2,262 $ 3,097
Accounts receivable, net of allowances of $210 and $247 at June 30, 2006 and December 31, 2005, respectively 7,541 6,723
Inventory 12,236 11,797
Income taxes receivable 234 439
Deferred income taxes 2,021 2,021
Prepaid expenses and other current assets 491 726
Total current assets 24,785 24,803
Property and equipment:
Building and improvements 14,936 14,930
Machinery and equipment 5,777 5,754
Furniture and office equipment 3,138 2,900
23,851 23,584
Accumulated depreciation and amortization (9,376 ) (8,684)
Property and equipment, net 14,475 14,900
Property held for sale, net 761
Restricted cash 5,000 5,000
Deferred income taxes 4,033 3,905
Goodwill, net of accumulated amortization and impairment charge of $37,381 2,026 2,026
Other assets 53 67
Total assets $ 50,372 $ 51,462
Liabilities and stockholders’ equity
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable $ 1,750 $ 4,647
Accrued expenses 4,122 2,888
Accrued payroll and related liabilities 1,063 826
Current portion of long-term debt 548 532
Total current liabilities 7,483 8,893
Long-term debt, less current portion 6,887 7,165
Commitments and contingencies
Stockholders’ equity:
Preferred stock, par value of $0.01 per share:
Authorized shares—2,000,000; Issued and outstanding shares—none
Common stock, par value of $0.01 per share:
Authorized shares—50,000,000 Issued and outstanding shares—13,575,648 and 13,535,837 at June 30, 2006 and December 31, 2005, respectively 136 135
Additional paid-in capital 60,537 60,113
Accumulated deficit (24,671 ) (24,844)
Total stockholders’ equity 36,002 35,404
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity $ 50,372 $ 51,462

Natrol, Inc. and Subsidiaries
Consolidated Statements of Operations
(In thousands, except share and per share data)
(unaudited
Three months ended
June 30,
Six months ended
June 30,
2006
2005 2006
2005
Net sales................................. $ 16,587 $ 19,604 $ 33,511 $ 37,273
Cost of goods sold....................... 9,394 12,076 19,423 23,480
Gross profit................................. 7,193 7,528 14,088 13,793
Selling and marketing expenses............. 4,091 4,860 8,183 9,045
General and administrative expenses....... 2,765 2,086 5,290 5,003
Option expenses................................. 67 359
Total operating expenses......... 6,923 6,946 13,832 14,048
Operating income (loss)......................... 270 582 256 (255)
Interest income................................. 60 48 116 90
Interest expense................................. (153 ) (160 ) (307 ) (320)
Gain on sale of property......................... 230
Income (loss) before taxes...................... 177 470 295 (485)
Income tax provision (benefit)................. 77 179 122 (184)
Net Income (loss)................................... $ 100 $ 291 $ 173 $ (301)
Income (loss) per share:
Basic.................................................... $ .01 $ .02 $ .01 $ (.02)
Diluted................................................. $ .01 $ .02 $ .01 $ (.02)
Weighted-average shares outstanding—basic and diluted
Basic.................................................... 13,563,747 13,453,164 13,557,115 13,418,981
Diluted................................................. 13,914,763 14,178,075 13,865,531 13,418,981