Hansen Natural 2Q profit up 11 percent on strong Monster Energy sales, international expansion

Strong sales lift Hansen Natural profit 11 percent

CORONA, Calif. — Strong sales of Monster Energy drinks and international expansion helped lift second-quarter profit 11 percent at Hansen Natural Corp. The better-than-expected results sent shares up 6 percent in late trading.

For the three months ended June 30, the beverage maker said net income rose to $63.8 million, or 69 cents per share, from $57.3 million, or 60 cents per share in the year-ago period.

Revenue jumped 22 percent to $365.7 million, from $300.3 million last year. Sales outside the U.S. rose by two-thirds to $66.6 million in the 2010 second quarter, from $39.4 million last year.

The results topped the average estimates of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, who had expected profit of 66 cents per share, on net sales of $325 million.

Chairman and CEO Rodney C. Sacks said the company launched Monster drinks in Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Norway during the quarter. Hansen is currently in the process of expanding to Germany, the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon and Jordan. “We have introduced and are also planning to introduce additional new products this year both domestically and internationally,” Sacks added.

Net sales for the company’s direct store delivery segment increased 25 percent to $341.3 million. Net sales for its warehouse segment slipped 9 percent to $24.4 million.

Distribution costs as a percentage of net sales inched up to 4.3 percent for the quarter, compared with 4.2 percent in the 2009 period.

Hansen Natural shares rose $2.43, or 5.9 percent, to $43.94 in aftermarket trading, after closing Thursday’s regular session down 20 cents at $41.51. The stock has traded between $24.01 and $44.99 in the past 52 weeks.