Natural Health Trends Corp. Appoints Three Board Members Per G. Ahlund Appointed VP of Worldwide Supply Chain Management DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 13, 2005--Natural Health Trends Corp. (NASDAQ NMS: BHIP - News; the "Company"), an international direct selling company, today announced that it has appointed Anthony B. Martino, Terrence M. Morris, and Colin J. O'Brien to its board of directors. The board now has 6 directors. Also, the Company has announced the appointment of Per G. Ahlund to the newly created position of Vice-President of Global Supply Chain Management. Martino, age 63, is currently a member of the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York and chairman of that body's Audit Committee, appointed by Governor Pataki in April 2004. With 37 years' experience in finance and public accounting, he is a retired partner of the Buffalo CPA firm Lumsden & McCormick, LLP. Earlier in his career, he worked at both Art Park & Company and Price Waterhouse. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Accounting from the University of Buffalo. Morris, age 57, is general partner at Morningside Ventures, where he directs the private venture capital portfolio. Prior to Morningside, where he is also president and managing director, he worked at IBM's Watson Research Center, Baxter Healthcare, the Boston Consulting Group and at Bay Partners. He is a current or past member of the boards of directors of: Family Education Network, Variagenics, Eurona Medical AB, Cell Therapeutics, and Dendreon. He is a graduate of Marietta College, the California Institute of Technology and the Harvard Business School. O'Brien, age 66, is a past Executive Chairman of Xerox Corporation. Earlier at Xerox and at New Enterprise Board, he held the titles of Vice President, President of the Documentation Systems Division and Chief Executive Officer. He founded and was CEO at Triax Corporation He currently serves on the Board of Directors at Scientific Games Corporation, where his is Chairman of the Audit Committee, as well as serving on the boards of several private companies. Robert H. Hesse, the Company's Interim Chief Executive Officer, said: "Natural Health Trends is a healthy business that needs a strong board to realize its full potential. Our revenues for the first nine months of 2005 were $150 million. When a business reaches that size, the talents and experience that are useful in a start-up operation become less valuable and a new set of skills and abilities become necessary to maximize shareholder value, service the clientele and manage the growth in a sustainable fashion. The addition of these outstanding individuals to Natural Health Trends' Board of Directors provides exactly what the Company needs; highly qualified, independent additions to our Audit Committee, and experience in running a global businesses. When I look over the careers of these gentlemen, I am confident that the growing demands of a global strategy will be under sound and thoughtful guidance, and that Natural Health Trends' future is balanced in youth and maturity." Natural Health Trends also has announced the appointment of Per G. Ahlund as its new Vice-President of Worldwide Supply Chain Management. Ahlund, age 56, has over 20 years' experience in senior executive positions in the US and Europe including global supply chain management for AB SKF, Eimo Americas Telecom and Innovisions Group. He will be in charge of logistics, vendor management, warehouse management and manufacturing for Natural Health Trends. Hesse said, "Per is going to play a vital role in the future of Natural Health Trends. With operations in more than 30 international markets, getting product into the hands of the customers requires a vast body of experience and skill. Per has proved his ability to do this in a cross-cultural situation time and again, and Natural Health Trends will be able to continue expanding its market presence because of his talents and experience in this mission-critical position." Natural Health Trends Corp. is an international direct-selling company operating in more than 30 markets throughout Asia, North America, Eastern Europe and Latin America. The Company markets premium quality personal care products under the Lexxus brand. Additional information can be found on the Company's website, and management encourages interested parties to register for updated corporate information via e-mail on the Company's homepage, www.naturalhealthtrendscorp.com. Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 -- Forward-looking statements in this release do not constitute guarantees of future performance. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. Such statements may relate, among other things, to our relationship with our distributors; our need to continually recruit new distributors; our internal controls and accounting methods that may require further modification; regulatory matters governing our products and network marketing system; our ability to recruit and maintain key management; adverse publicity associated with our products or direct selling organizations; product liability claims; our reliance on outside manufacturers; risks associated with operating internationally, including foreign exchange risks; product concentration; dependence on increased penetration of existing markets; the competitive nature of our business; and our ability to generate sufficient cash to operate and expand our business. For a more detailed discussion of the risks and uncertainties of our business, please refer to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2004 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We assume no obligation to update any forward-looking information contained in this press release or with respect to the announcements described herein. CONTACT: Natural Health Trends Corp. Robert H. Hesse, CEO, 972-241-4080 or Porter, LeVay & Rose, Inc. Michael Porter, President - Investor Relations Linda Decker, VP - Investor Relations Jeff Myhre, VP - Editorial 212-564-4700 Fax: 212-244-3075 www.plrinvest.com
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