Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Significant Accounting Policies

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Significant Accounting Policies
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2013
Accounting Policies [Abstract]  
Significant Accounting Policies

2. Significant Accounting Policies

Basis of Presentation

The unaudited and unreviewed interim financial information of the Company has been prepared in accordance with Article 10 of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s, or the SEC, Regulation S-X. Accordingly, as permitted by Article 10 of the SEC’s Regulation S-X, it does not include all of the information required by generally accepted accounting principles in the U.S., or U.S. GAAP, for complete financial statements. The condensed consolidated balance sheet at December 31, 2012 was derived from the previously audited financial statements at that date, where the Company’s previous independent registered public accounting firm’s audit opinions have now been withdrawn as explained further in Note 14, Subsequent Events, and does not include all the disclosures required by U.S. GAAP, as permitted by Article 10 of the SEC’s Regulation S-X. The Company’s unaudited and unreviewed condensed consolidated financial statements as of March 31, 2013, and for the three months ended March 31, 2013 and 2012, include Herbalife and all of its direct and indirect subsidiaries. In the opinion of management, the accompanying financial information contains all adjustments, consisting of normal recurring adjustments, necessary to present fairly the Company’s unaudited and unreviewed condensed consolidated financial statements as of March 31, 2013, and for the three months ended March 31, 2013 and 2012. These unaudited and unreviewed condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2012, or the 2012 10-K. Operating results for the three months ended March 31, 2013, are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the year ending December 31, 2013.

The unaudited interim financial information presented in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q has not been reviewed by an independent registered public accounting firm as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm resigned on April 8, 2013. See Note 14, Subsequent Events, for further discussion. As a result this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q is considered deficient and, as of the filing deadline for this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, the Company is no longer considered to be timely or current in its filings under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act. While this filing does not comply with the requirements of Regulation S-X, and should not be interpreted to be a substitute for the review that would normally occur by the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm, the Company’s Audit Committee and management believe that the interim financial information presented herein fairly present, in all material respects, the financial condition and results of operations of the Company as of the end of and for the referenced periods and may be relied upon. Except for the absence of this review of the unaudited interim financial information discussed above, this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q fully complies with the requirements of the Exchange Act and the Company believes it is prudent to file this Report with the SEC in spite of the current circumstances to provide the financial and other information set forth herein to its shareholders and other interested parties. The Company plans to file an amendment to this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q as soon as practicable following the engagement of a successor independent registered public accounting firm and the firm’s review of the Company’s interim financial statements included herein.

New Accounting Pronouncements

In February 2013, the Financial Accounting Standards Board, or FASB, issued Accounting Standards Update, or ASU, No. 2013-04, Liabilities (Topic 405): Obligations Resulting from Joint and Several Liability Arrangements for which the Total Amount of the Obligation Is Fixed at the Reporting Date (a consensus of the FASB Emerging Issues Task Force). This ASU addresses the recognition, measurement, and disclosure of certain obligations resulting from joint and several arrangements including debt arrangements, other contractual obligations, and settled litigation and judicial rulings. The ASU is effective for public entities for fiscal years, and interim periods within those years, beginning after December 15, 2013. The Company is evaluating the potential impact of this adoption on its consolidated financial statements.

 

In March 2013, the FASB issued ASU No. 2013-05, Foreign Currency Matters (Topic 830): Parent’s Accounting for the Cumulative Translation Adjustment upon Derecognition of Certain Subsidiaries or Groups of Assets within a Foreign Entity or of an Investment in a Foreign Entity (a consensus of the FASB Emerging Issues Task Force). This ASU addresses the accounting for the cumulative translation adjustment when a parent either sells a part or all of its investment in a foreign entity or no longer holds a controlling financial interest in a subsidiary or group of assets that is a nonprofit activity or a business within a foreign entity. This ASU is effective prospectively for fiscal years, and interim periods within those years, beginning after December 15, 2013. The Company is evaluating the potential impact of this adoption on its consolidated financial statements.

Venezuela

Currency restrictions enacted by the Venezuelan government have become more restrictive and have impacted the ability of the Company’s subsidiary in Venezuela, Herbalife Venezuela, to timely obtain U.S. dollars in exchange for Venezuelan Bolivars, or Bolivars, at the official foreign exchange rate from the Venezuelan government and its foreign exchange commission, CADIVI. The application and approval process continue to be delayed and the Company’s ability to timely obtain U.S. dollars at the official exchange rate remains uncertain.

In February 2013, the Venezuela government announced that it devalued its Bolivar currency and will eliminate the SITME regulated system. The SITME 5.3 Bolivars per U.S. dollar rate was eliminated and the CADIVI rate has been devalued from 4.3 Bolivars to 6.3 Bolivars per U.S. dollar. This new CADIVI rate is approximately 16% less favorable than the previously published 5.3 SITME rate. The Company recognized approximately $15.1 million of net foreign exchange losses within its condensed consolidated statement of income for the three months ended March 31, 2013, as a result of remeasuring the Company’s Bolivar denominated monetary assets and liabilities at this new CADIVI rate of 6.3 Bolivars per U.S. dollar. The majority of these foreign exchange losses related to the approximately $16.9 million devaluation of Herbalife Venezuela’s Bolivar denominated cash and cash equivalents. In March 2013, the Venezuelan government also announced they will introduce an additional complimentary exchange mechanism known as SICAD. It is currently unknown whether Herbalife Venezuela will be able to access this new exchange mechanism and the Company is currently assessing and monitoring the restrictions and exchange rates relating to this alternative mechanism.

During the three months ended March 31, 2013, the Company also recognized $0.7 million of foreign exchange losses as a result of exchanging Bolivars for U.S. dollars using alternative legal exchange mechanisms that were approximately 75% less favorable than the new CADIVI rate. During the three months ended March 31, 2013, the Company has exchanged 5.6 million Bolivars for $0.2 million U.S. dollars using these alternative legal exchange mechanisms. As of March 31, 2013, Herbalife Venezuela’s net monetary assets and liabilities denominated in Bolivars were approximately $89.5 million, and included approximately $102.3 million in Bolivar denominated cash and cash equivalents. These Bolivar denominated assets and liabilities were remeasured at the CADIVI rate. The Company remeasures its Bolivars at the official published CADIVI rate given the limited availability of alternative exchange mechanisms and the uncertainty in the effective exchange rate for alternative exchange mechanisms. These remeasured amounts, including cash and cash equivalents, being reported on the Company’s condensed consolidated balance sheet using the published CADIVI rate may not accurately represent the amount of U.S. dollars that the Company could ultimately realize. While the Company continues to monitor the exchange mechanisms and restrictions under CADIVI, and assess and monitor the current economic and political environment in Venezuela, there is no assurance that the Company will be able to exchange Bolivars into U.S. dollars on a timely basis. Herbalife Venezuela’s net sales represented approximately 4% and 3% of the Company’s consolidated net sales for the three months ended March 31, 2013 and 2012, respectively, and its total assets represented approximately 6% and 7% of the Company’s consolidated total assets as of March 31, 2013 and December 31, 2012, respectively. As of March 31, 2013 and December 31, 2012, the majority of its total assets consisted of Bolivar denominated cash and cash equivalents.

See the Company’s 2012 10-K for further information on Herbalife Venezuela and Venezuela’s highly inflationary economy.