GNC Holdings profit slides in Q1

Pittsburgh -- GNC Holdings reported that net income for the quarter ended March 31 dipped to $69.9 million, from $72.6 million in the year-ago period.



Retail revenue grew 3.1% to $509.0 million, compared to $493.5 million for first quarter 2013, driven primarily by strength from the e-commerce sector. Consolidated revenue edged up 1.9% to $677.3 million. Same-store sales decreased 0.7%.



“January and February were affected by severe weather across large parts of the country, resulting in a delayed start to the workout season,” said Joe Fortunato, GNC president and CEO. “Recent trends have also been affected by an unusually significant amount of negative media, and year-over-year sales hurdles in the third-party diet and pre-workout categories. Based on our current information it looks like these recent trends will persist for the next few quarters.”