Nature's Sunshine Products Inc. In HUGE Financial Trouble

Those of you that read this blog with any degree of regularity, know that I waste no time to point out turmoil with companies in the nutritional supplement industry. It is my belief that most companies within the nutritional supplement industry, are full of nothing more than marketing hype and absolutely no scientific basis to substantiate any of their products or product claims. In addition, most companies do not even have the financial infrastructure to support scientific research and development for quality products, let alone conduct scientific studies to see if their products even work.

The following report from the Associated Press about one such company, is just one more reason to seriously consider Pharmanex and it's family of products, when searching for the right nutritional supplements to assist you in achieving optimal health. Make no mistake, the product lines offered by Pharmanex are the most comprehensive nutritional supplements on the market today. They have been scientifically proven to work. Our products are science based, with numerous clinical trials and published scientific studies that are available to the public. We substantiate everything we do, with science.

AP

Nature's Sunshine Retracts Financials

Monday March 20, 2:38 pm ET

Nature's Sunshine Products Says Financial Statements Should Not Be Relied Upon

PROVO, Utah (AP) -- Health care product maker Nature's Sunshine Products Inc. on Monday said past financial statements are no longer reliable and warned that it may be delisted from the Nasdaq if it is unable to get a filing extension from the market.

Shares of Nature's Sunshine plummeted on the news.

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the company stated that an ongoing investigation by the company's audit committee and an independent consultant into "certain of its foreign operations" and past financial statements has found "internal control weaknesses" and "potential violations of law."

Based on preliminary results from an ongoing investigation, the company said, statements for the fiscal years 2002 to 2004 and the first three quarters of 2005, should not be relied upon and may have to be restated.

In addition to retracting the financial statements above, the preliminary report also recommended the termination of undisclosed employees and certain officers.

The company has "contacted relevant authorities in the United States with respect to the potential violations of law outlined in the preliminary report," the filing said.

"At this time, it is impossible to accurately predict whether, and if so, to what extent, any prior periods may need to be restated," the filing continued.

The Nasdaq has granted Nature's Sunshine an extension to March 31, to file its report for the quarter ended Sept. 30. The company does expect to meet that deadline and intends to seek another extension. However, if the Nasdaq panel denies the request and delists Nature's Sunshine, the liquidity of its stock would be hurt, the company warned.

Shares of Nature's Sunshine sank $2.59, or 16 percent, to $13.90 during midday trading on the Nasdaq. The stock has traded in a 52-week range of $12.50 to $23.89.