Medifast Inc. (MED)

[investora2z]

Though the analyst estimates for revenue were missed, the earnings were good and the company managed to report growth in revenues and net income both sequentially and on a yoy basis. The revenue increased 3.7% on a yoy basis from $93.57 million to $97.07 million. The net income increased 151% from $2.81 million in Q2'12 to $7.07 million in Q2'13. In Q1'13, the revenue was $96.04 million and the net income was $5.93 million. The revenue estimate for Q2'13 was in excess of $101 million. For the full year 2013, the average analyst estimate for EPS is $1.79. The revenue through Take Shape for Life, the company’s direct sales channel, increased 10 percent in the quarter to $61.4 million. The revenue guidance for 2013 given by the company is $375 million to $385 million, and EPS is expected to be in the range of $1.70 to $1.80. The company recently announced plans to pursue the strategic sale of its existing corporate Medifast Weight Control Centers and transition them to the franchise model over the next 12 to 18 months. This strategic transition is likely to make Medifast more financially flexible, and expand faster in the future. Some analysts consider Medifast as having good growth potential with decent valuations. The company is targeting $1 billion in revenue by 2017 which implies an annualized compounded growth of 23%. It plans to achieve this through gobal expansion, implementation of the "One Medifast" program and focus on acquiring talent and developing employee's capabilities. However, competition in the weight management market is fragmented with numerous approaches to deal with the problem. There are the direct competitors like Weight Watchers (WTW) and Herbalife (HLF). New vitamin supplements to counter this problem are being developed. Chromadex Corporation (CDXC) recently launched a vitamin derivative (nicotinamide riboside) to tackle the problem. Medifast is an established player and can be expected to grow with the market.