1st quarter results Usana's sales drop and costs rise; earnings fall 28% Usana Health Sciences Inc. reported lower earnings for the first quarter of 2008, blaming the decrease on higher operating costs and a decline in net sales. The nutritional, personal care and weight management products company said earnings per share fell to 46 cents in the first quarter of 2008 from 64 cents in the first three months of 2007. Net income was $7.7 million the first quarter of this year compared with $11.6 million last year.

Usana, a direct sales or multilevel marketing company, said it saw a decrease of the number of people selling its products in North America along with a net sales decrease of 3.5 percent to $62.3 million. In its Asia/Pacific region, however, net sales increased by 8.8 percent to $39.3 million, due primarily to big jumps in Hong Kong and Malaysia.

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