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USANA Health Sciences gave their investors a look at some preliminary financials last week after the company received some news that had an effect on its fourth quarter. Usana said they expected to report a profit of 56 cents a share before one time adjustments when they release fourth quarter results next month. Those profits will likely fall to around 16 cents a share after the company is forced to fork over a hefty sum as a result of a tax audit by the IRS.

Because Usana is publicly traded company (NasdaqGS: USNA), they are required to keep its shareholders in the loop about events that could have an impact on the value of their investments. The company didn’t want to wait until next month to release the news but we did provide a sneak peak of their promise a few months back.

Chief Financial Officer Jeff Yates said “We are trying to fulfill that obligation by communicating as openly and as timely as it is possible to be.”

The IRS audit of tax statements for the years of 2003-2006 found that Usana owed more taxes to the government than they had paid. Usana has subtracted $1.8 million from quarterly profits to account for the ruling, but the final impact of the ruling could be much greater and could reach as much as $10 million dollars after Usana exhausts its appeals. And that wasn’t the only bad financial news the company received this year……

The company just recently lost a battle against a distributor who was fired in 2003 after allegedly breaching a contract with the company. An arbitrator found in favor of the distributor and ruled that he is entitled to approximately $7million dollars in lost compensation.

Usana will announce full fourth quarter results next month although early reports suggest that net sales will be down quite a bit from last year along with profit, revenue and share price.

Popularity: 6% [?]

The salmonella scare that has hit the U.S. has finally made its way to the direct sales industry. Amway Global has announced that the company has voluntarily issued a recall of three types of the Nutrilite Energy Bars due to the possibility that they contain peanut paste that has been tainted with salmonella.

Last week, Amway Global recalled three flavors, the vanilla pretzel, peanut butter and chocolate nut roll Energy Bars. The company said that those three flavors possibly contain or have been tainted in some way by the peanut paste that is at the center of the health scare.

The recent salmonella outbreak has been traced by the Food and Drug Administration to the Peanut Corporation of America in Georgia, a vendor that Amway sometimes uses for their products. Robin Luymes, communications manager for Amway said that customers have been notified by letter.

Amway also notified customers that another product sold in the Amway Global catalog, the Austin Toasty Crackers, have been recalled due to contamination as well.

If you have purchased these products through Amway or an Amway Global rep, please either return them to the company or throw them away!! Although no confirmed cases of salmonella have been linked to Amway products, it’s better to be safe!

The products, SKUs, and manufacturing lots are being recalled are:

Vanilla Pretzel Energy Bar, SKU/UPC 10-6529; lot numbers 8219A, 8242A, 8276A and 8304A

Peanut Butter Energy Bar, SKU/UPC 10-6530; lot numbers 8294A and 8340A

Chocolate Nut Roll Energy Bar, SKU/UPC 10-6528; lots numbers 8287A, 8357A and 8246A

Product Intro Kit, SKU/UPC E9745; lot numbers 8275BPS1, 8275BPS2, 8275BPS3, 8275MSN1, 8275MSN2 and 8275MSN3.

The lot numbers appear on both the package and the individual bars.

Popularity: 9% [?]

XanGo LLC has named Larry V. Macfarlane as the company’s newest Chief Marketing Officer.

MacFarlane comes to the company with over two decades of experience in the direct sales industry, having previously worked for several industry powerhouses including NuSkin Enterprises.

Larry Macfarlane has also served as President of Big Planet, since September 2003. Prior to this appointment, Mr. Macfarlane worked for Wind River Systems from 1998 to 2003, where he served as General Manager of network infrastructure and digital consumer markets. Previously, he served in executive positions at several high-tech companies, including President and CEO of Zinc Software, Inc. from 1994 to 1998, Vice President and General Manager of Computer Equipment Warehouse’s Utah region from 1992 to 1994, and President of Computers Made Easy from 1985 to 1992.

Macfarlane will be responsible for leading the company with new marketing and business initiatives. Macfarlane will work with others in the XanGo marketing team to lead all aspects of marketing including product management, marketing and branding.

In his previous role at NuSkin, Macfarlane served as a division president where he was responsible for developing new opportunities and helping to enhance the value of the NuSkin brand.

Popularity: 7% [?]

Fresh on the heels of Shaklee’s announcement to launch in China, fellow network marketing company, Nu Skin has announced this week that they have received permission from the Chinese Government to expand their operations in China. As we’ve told you before, the Chinese Government has strict standards when it comes to granting licenses to operate a Direct Sales company within the company.

Nu Skin received approval from the Chinese Ministry of Commerce to commence direct selling activities in four cities in the Guangdong Province and Shenzhen City.

Receiving approval to operate in the Guangdong province is a huge accomplishment for the company. That province is the second largest in the country with a population just over 94 million people.

Nu Skin has previously received licenses to operate in Beijing and Shanghai.

“We are pleased to begin our 25th Anniversary Year with the opportunity to expand our direct selling model in China,” said Truman Hunt, president and chief executive officer. “We continue to see great potential in this market and believe our ability to expand our direct selling model to those in the Guangdong province will have a positive influence in the China market. Overall, we are confident in the direction of our global business operations and look forward to executing on our 2009 business plans.”

Popularity: 4% [?]