Pittsburgh, PA—In the face of the controversy regarding the New York Attorney General’s targeting of major retailers , GNC Holdings, Inc. held an earnings call to discuss the company’s financial results in the first quarter of 2015. People present for the call included CEO Mike Archbold, executive vice president and CFO Tricia Tolivar and Dennis Magulick, vice president of treasury and investor relations.

Archbold began the call by confirming that the quarter had shown a sales decline for the company, which had experienced a 0.6% drop in consolidated revenue to $670. 2 million. While he noted that the timing did match “with the negative media associated with the New York Attorney General's actions,” Archbold explained that said actions did not contribute to the sales decline. Instead, he explained that other factors were behind the Q1 drop.

Among the reasons behind the decline were the impact of prior-year promotions, a decline in customer interaction via email and direct mail, and merchandising issues, all of which Archbold had created plans to address for the future.

He also addressed some of the concerns regarding the agreement GNC reached with the NYAG in March, reiterating that  “our objective included establishing ultimate clarity to what we already knew and what the New York Attorney General has now confirmed, that our products are pure, safe and fully compliant with all applicable regulatory requirements.” He concluded by explaining that the industry should embrace, rather than fear, testing methods that provide opportunities to build consumer trust.

Posted 5/4/2015

Call transcript available at SeekingAlpha.com