Annual report pursuant to Section 13 and 15(d)

Basis of Presentation (Policies)

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Basis of Presentation (Policies)
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2011
Organization and Basis of Presentation [Abstract]  
New Accounting Pronouncements

In September 2011, the Financial Accounting Standards Board, or FASB, issued Accounting Standards Update, or ASU, No. 2011-08, Testing Goodwill for Impairment. This ASU permits an entity to make a qualitative assessment of whether it is more likely than not that a reporting unit’s fair value is less than its carrying amount before applying the two-step goodwill impairment test. If an entity concludes it is not more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount, then there is no need to perform the two-step impairment test. This ASU is effective for annual and interim goodwill impairment tests performed for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2011. Early adoption is permitted. The adoption of this ASU will not have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements, as it is intended to simplify the assessment for goodwill impairment.

Comprehensive Income

In June 2011, the FASB issued ASU No. 2011-05, Comprehensive Income (Topic 220): Presentation of Comprehensive Income. This ASU will require companies to present the components of net and comprehensive income in either one or two consecutive financial statements and eliminates the option to present other comprehensive income in the statement of changes in shareholders’ equity. In December 2011, the FASB issued amendments to defer certain presentation requirements of this ASU; the amendments defer the requirement where companies would have been required to present reclassification adjustments for each component of accumulated other comprehensive income in both net income and other comprehensive income on the face of the financial statements. This ASU is effective for fiscal years and interim periods within those years, beginning after December 15, 2011. The adoption of this ASU only impacts the presentation of the Company’s consolidated financial statements and does not materially impact its consolidated financial statements.

In May 2011, the FASB issued ASU No. 2011-04, Fair Value Measurement (Topic 820): Amendments to Achieve Common Fair Value Measurement and Disclosure Requirements in U.S. GAAP and IFRSs. This ASU expands existing disclosure requirements for fair value measurements and provides additional information on how to measure fair value. The Company is required to apply this ASU prospectively for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2011. The adoption of this guidance will not have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

Comprehensive income consists of net earnings, foreign currency translation adjustments and the effective portion of the unrealized gains or losses on derivatives. Comprehensive income is presented in the consolidated statements of shareholders’ equity and comprehensive income.

Consolidation Policy

The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Herbalife Ltd. and its subsidiaries. All significant intercompany transactions and accounts have been eliminated.

Business Combinations

During August 2009, the Company purchased certain assets of Micelle Laboratories, Inc., a Lake Forest, California contract manufacturer of food and nutritional supplements. The Company purchased the assets in order to strengthen its global manufacturing capabilities. The purchase price is not material to the Company’s consolidated financial statements and for accounting purposes the acquisition, or the Micelle Acquisition, was recorded as a business combination pursuant to FASB accounting standards codification, or ASC, 805, Business Combinations.

Foreign Currency Translation and Transactions

In the majority of the countries that the Company operates, the functional currency is the local currency. The Company’s foreign subsidiaries’ asset and liability accounts are translated for consolidated financial reporting purposes into U.S. dollar amounts at year-end exchange rates. Revenue and expense accounts are translated at the average rates during the year. Foreign exchange translation adjustments are included in accumulated other comprehensive loss on the accompanying consolidated balance sheets. Foreign currency transaction gains and losses, which include the cost of foreign currency derivative contracts and the related settlement gains and losses but excluding certain foreign currency derivatives designated as cash flow hedges as discussed in Note 11, Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities, are included in selling, general and administrative expenses in the accompanying consolidated statements of income. The Company recorded net foreign currency transaction losses of $11.4 million, $7.3 million, and $7.7 million, for the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010, and 2009, respectively, which includes the foreign exchange impact relating to the Company’s Venezuelan subsidiary, Herbalife Venezuela. Herbalife Venezuela’s foreign currency financial statement impact is discussed further below within this Note.

Forward Exchange Contracts, Option Contracts and Interest Rate Swaps

The Company enters into foreign currency derivative instruments such as forward exchange contracts and option contracts in managing its foreign exchange risk on sales to distributors, purchase commitments denominated in foreign currencies, intercompany transactions and bank loans. The Company also enters into interest rate swaps in managing its interest rate risk on its variable rate credit facility. The Company does not use the contracts for trading purposes.

In accordance with FASB ASC Topic 815, Derivatives and Hedging, or ASC 815, the Company designates certain of its derivative instruments as cash flow hedges and formally documents its hedge relationships, including identification of the hedging instruments and the hedged items, as well as its risk management objectives and strategies for undertaking the hedge transaction, at the time the derivative contract is executed. The Company assesses the effectiveness of the hedge both at inception and on an ongoing basis and determines whether the hedge is highly or perfectly effective in offsetting changes in cash flows of the hedged item. The Company records the effective portion of changes in the estimated fair value in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) and subsequently reclassifies the related amount of accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) to earnings when the hedged item and underlying transaction impacts earnings. If it is determined that a derivative has ceased to be a highly effective hedge, the Company will discontinue hedge accounting for such transaction. For derivatives that are not designated as hedges, all changes in estimated fair value are recognized in the consolidated statements of income.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

The Company considers all highly liquid investments purchased with a maturity of three months or less to be cash equivalents. Cash and cash equivalents are comprised primarily of foreign and domestic bank accounts. To reduce its credit risk, the Company monitors the credit standing of the financial institutions that hold the Company’s cash and cash equivalents.

During 2011, the Company entered into a cash pooling arrangement with a financial institution for cash management purposes. This cash pooling arrangement allows certain of the Company’s participating foreign locations to withdraw cash from this financial institution to the extent aggregate cash deposits held by its participating locations are available at the financial institution. To the extent any participating location on an individual basis is in an overdraft position, these overdrafts will be recorded as liabilities and reflected as financing activities in the Company’s consolidated balance sheet and consolidated statement of cash flows, respectively. As of December 31, 2011, the Company did not owe any amounts to this financial institution.

Accounts Receivable

Accounts receivable consist principally of receivables from credit card companies, arising from the sale of products to the Company’s distributors, and receivables from importers, who are utilized in a limited number of countries to sell products to distributors. Due to the geographic dispersion of its credit card receivables, the collection risk is not considered to be significant. The receivables from credit card companies were $65.1 million and $51.4 million as of December 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively. Substantially all of the receivables from credit card companies were current as of December 31, 2011 and 2010. Although receivables from importers can be significant, the Company performs ongoing credit evaluations of its importers and maintains an allowance for potential credit losses. The Company considers customer credit-worthiness, past and current transaction history with the customer, contractual terms, current economic industry trends, and changes in customer payment terms when determining whether collectibility is reasonably assured and whether to record allowances for its receivables. If the financial condition of the Company’s customers deteriorates and adversely affects their ability to make payments, additional allowances will be recorded. The Company believes that it provides adequate allowances for receivables from its distributors and importers which are not material to its consolidated financial statements. As of December 31, 2011, the majority of the Company’s total outstanding accounts receivable were current.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

The Company applies the provisions of FASB authoritative guidance as it applies to the nonfinancial assets and nonfinancial liabilities. The FASB authoritative guidance clarifies the definition of fair value, prescribes methods for measuring fair value, establishes a fair value hierarchy based on the inputs used to measure fair value, and expands disclosures about fair value measurements. As disclosed in Note 13, Fair Value Measurements, the Company has properly measured and disclosed its financial instruments.

The Company has estimated the fair value of its financial instruments using the following methods and assumptions:

 

   

The carrying amounts of cash and cash equivalents, receivables and accounts payable approximate fair value due to the short-term maturities of these instruments;

 

   

The fair value of option and forward contracts are based on dealer quotes; and

 

   

The carrying values of the Company’s variable rate debt instruments are considered to approximate their fair values because interest rates of those instruments approximate current rates offered to the Company.

Inventories

Inventories are stated at lower of cost (primarily on the first-in, first-out basis) or market.

Deferred Financing Costs

Deferred financing costs represent fees and expenses related to the borrowing of the Company’s long-term debt and are amortized over the term of the related debt.

Long-Lived Assets

Depreciation of furniture, fixtures, and equipment (includes computer hardware and software) is computed on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful lives of the related assets, which range from three to ten years. Leasehold improvements are amortized on a straight-line basis over the life of the related asset or the term of the lease, whichever is shorter. Depreciation of furniture, fixtures, equipment, and amortization of leasehold improvements recorded to selling, general and administrative expenses totaled $68.9 million, $67.7 million, and $62.2 million, for the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009, respectively.

Long-lived assets are reviewed for impairment, based on undiscounted cash flows, whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of such assets may not be recoverable. Measurement of an impairment loss is based on the estimated fair value of the asset.

Goodwill and Intangible Assets

Goodwill and marketing related intangible assets with indefinite lives are evaluated on an annual basis for impairment or more frequently if events or changes in circumstances indicate that the asset might be impaired. During the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009, there were no goodwill or marketing related intangible asset impairments. At December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009, the marketing related intangible asset balance was $310.0 million. As of December 31, 2011, 2010, and 2009, the goodwill balance was $105.5 million, $102.9 million, and $102.5 million, respectively. The $2.6 million increase in goodwill in 2011 from 2010 was primarily due to the acquisition of iChange Network, Inc., a privately held software company, where the purchase price was not material to the Company’s consolidated financial statements. The $0.4 million increase in goodwill in 2010 from 2009 was primarily due to the effect of an adjustment to the fair value of inventory acquired in the Micelle Acquisition.

Intangible assets with finite lives are amortized over their expected lives, and are expected to be fully amortized over the next five years. As of December 31, 2011, the Company’s intangible assets with finite lives increased to $1.7 million, net of $0.6 million amortization, due to the iChange Network acquisition. As of December 31, 2010, the Company’s intangible assets with finite lives decreased to $0.8 million. As of December 31, 2009, the Company’s intangible assets with finite lives increased to $1.7 million, net of $0.2 million amortization, due to the Micelle Acquisition. The annual amortization expense for finite life intangibles was $0.6 million, $0.9 million, and $0.2 million for the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010, and 2009, respectively. At December 31, 2011, the annual expected amortization expense is as follows: 2012 — $0.6 million; 2013 — $0.4 million; 2014 — $0.3 million; 2015 — $0.3 million; and 2016 — $0.1 million.

Income Taxes

Income tax expense includes income taxes payable for the current year and the change in deferred income tax assets and liabilities for the future tax consequences of events that have been recognized in the Company’s financial statements or income tax returns. A valuation allowance is recognized to reduce the carrying value of deferred income tax assets if it is believed to be more likely than not that a component of the deferred income tax assets will not be realized.

The Company accounts for uncertainty in income taxes in accordance with FASB authoritative guidance which clarifies the accounting and reporting for uncertainties in income taxes recognized in an enterprise’s financial statements. This guidance prescribes a comprehensive model for the financial statement recognition, measurement, presentation and disclosure of uncertain tax positions taken or expected to be taken in income tax returns. See Note 12, Income Taxes, for further discussion on income taxes.

In the second quarter of 2011, the Company changed its method of accounting for excess tax benefits recognized as a result of the exercise of employee stock options, stock appreciation rights, or SARs, and other share-based equity grants, from the tax-law-ordering method to the with-and-without method. Under the tax law ordering method, the deduction for share-based compensation is applied against income tax liabilities before other credits are applied, such as foreign tax credits. The with-and-without method applies the deduction for share-based compensation against taxable income after other credits have been applied against taxable income, to the extent allowable and subject to applicable limitations. The with-and-without method separately determines the impact of the tax benefit from share-based compensation after considering the tax effects related to the Company’s on-going operations. A benefit is recorded when deductions for share-based compensation reduces income taxes payable or increases income taxes refund receivable. The Company believes that the with-and-without method is a preferable method of determining the benefit applicable to share-based compensation because it better reflects the Company’s ongoing operations. This change in accounting method primarily impacts the allocation of income taxes and tax benefits between continuing operations, deferred tax items, and additional paid in capital for financial reporting purposes, but it does not have any impact on the ultimate amount of income tax reported on the Company’s income tax returns and it does not impact the Company’s income taxes payable included within its accompanying consolidated balance sheet. This change in accounting principle does not impact the consolidated financial statements related to fiscal years prior to 2010.

This change in accounting principle is applied to all periods presented and the following tables summarize the impact of this change on the Company’s consolidated financial statements:

If the Company had not changed from the prior tax law ordering method of accounting for excess tax benefits in the second quarter of fiscal year 2011, income taxes, net income and earnings per share would have been reflected as noted below:

Royalty Overrides

An independent distributor may earn commissions, called royalty overrides or production bonuses, based on retail volume. Such commissions are based on the retail sales volume of certain other members of the independent sales force who are sponsored by the distributor. In addition, such commissions are recorded when the products are shipped and revenue is recognized. Non-U.S. royalty checks that have aged, for a variety of reasons, beyond a certainty of being paid, are taken back into income. Management has estimated this period of certainty to be three years worldwide.

Operating Leases

The Company leases all of its physical properties under operating leases. Certain lease agreements generally include rent holidays and tenant improvement allowances. The Company recognizes rent holiday periods on a straight-line basis over the lease term beginning when the Company has the right to the leased space. The Company also records tenant improvement allowances and rent holidays as deferred rent liabilities and amortizes the deferred rent over the terms of the lease to rent.

Research and Development

The Company’s research and development is performed by in-house staff and outside consultants. For all periods presented, research and development costs were expensed as incurred and were not material.

Earnings Per Share

Basic earnings per share represents net income for the period common shares were outstanding, divided by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding for the period. Diluted earnings per share represents net income divided by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding, inclusive of the effect of dilutive securities such as outstanding stock options, SARs, stock units and warrants.

There were an aggregate of 2.1 million, 1.5 million and 5.6 million of equity grants, consisting of stock options, SARs, and stock units that were outstanding during the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009, respectively, but were not included in the computation of diluted earnings per share because their effect would be anti-dilutive.

Revenue Recognition

Revenue is recognized when products are shipped and title and risk of loss passes to the independent distributor or importer. Sales are recognized on a net sales basis, which reflects product returns, net of discounts referred to as “distributor allowances,” and amounts billed for shipping and handling costs. Shipping and handling costs paid by the Company are included in cost of sales. The Company generally receives the net sales price in cash or through credit card payments at the point of sale. The Company currently presents sales taxes collected from customers on a net basis. Related royalty overrides are recorded when revenue is recognized.

Allowances for product returns, primarily in connection with the Company’s buyback program, are provided at the time the sale is recorded. This accrual is based upon historical return rates for each country and the relevant return pattern, which reflects anticipated returns to be received over a period of up to 12 months following the original sale.

Share-Based Payments

The Company accounts for share-based compensation in accordance with FASB authoritative guidance which requires the measurement of share-based compensation expense for all share-based payment awards made to employees for service. The Company measures share-based compensation cost at the grant date, based on the fair value of the award, and recognizes the expense on a straight-line basis over the employee’s requisite service period.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions. Such estimates and assumptions affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. The Company evaluates its estimates and assumptions on an ongoing basis using historical experience and other factors, including the current economic environment, which the Company believes to be reasonable under the circumstances. The Company adjusts such estimates and assumptions when facts and circumstances dictate. Illiquid credit markets, volatile equity, and foreign currency have combined to increase the uncertainty inherent in such estimates and assumptions. As future events and their effects cannot be determined with precision, actual results could differ from these estimates. Changes in estimates resulting from continuing changes in the economic environment will be reflected in the financial statements in future periods.