Utah firms record results

Several Utah-based companies or firms with ties to the state reported quarterly financial results on Tuesday.

Usana

Salt Lake-based Usana Health Sciences Inc. reported net earnings of $8.9 million, or 45 cents per share, for the first quarter. That compares with $6.2 million, or 30 cents per share, for the year-ago quarter.

The company had record net sales of $76.6 million for the quarter ended April 2, up from $61.8 million a year ago. Usana said it was the 11th consecutive quarter of company-record net sales.

The company said it expects net sales in the second quarter to be $78 million to $80 million and earnings of 46 cents to 47 cents per share. It reiterated full-year guidance of net sales totaling $319 million to $327 million and earnings per share of $1.85 to $1.90.

The company develops and manufactures nutritionals, personal care and weight management products.

The company's stock rose $1.39 Tuesday to close at $47.33. During the past year, the price has ranged from $23.93 to $52.93.

Nature's Sunshine

Provo-based herb and vitamin company Nature's Sunshine Products Inc. reported net income of nearly $4 million, or 26 cents per share, for the first quarter. That compares with nearly $3 million, or 20 cents per share, for the same period last year.

For the quarter ended March 31, sales revenue totaled $86.4 million, up from $77.7 million in the year-ago quarter.

The company said working capital on March 31 totaled $46.8 million, while cash and cash equivalents increased $4 million to $40.2 million from the end of 2004. It had about 637,000 distributors worldwide at the end of the quarter, up from 582,000 a year ago.

The financial results for the quarter were announced before stock trading Tuesday. The company's stock fell 58 cents during the day to close at $15.58. During the past year, the price has ranged from $12.45 to $22.66.

Wells Fargo

San Francisco-based Wells Fargo & Co.'s earnings growth slowed in the first quarter as the nation's fifth-largest bank sustained more losses on high-risk consumer loans. Profits missed analysts' projections by a penny.

Wells Fargo said its earnings totaled $1.86 billion, or $1.08 per share, for the January-March period, a 5 percent increase from profits of $1.77 billion, or $1.03 per share, a year ago. Revenue rose 13 percent to $8.09 billion from $7.15 billion last year.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial were looking for the company to post earnings of $1.09 per share on sales of $7.9 billion.