Profit up at Herbalife, subject of Street squabble

NEW YORK (AP) — Herbalife, the company caught in the middle of a hedge fund dogfight, says revenue and profit grew at the end of last year.

Net income was up 12 percent to $118 million. Per share, that worked out to $1.05, edging past the $1.03 that analysts polled by FactSet had expected.

Sales rose 20 percent to $1.06 billion, ahead of Wall Street's predicted $1.05 billion.

The Los Angeles company, which sells dietary supplements, credited strong relationships with customers. It barely mentioned the fight over it by hedge fund moguls Carl Icahn, who is buying Herbalife shares, and Bill Ackman, who is betting against them. It did say it would be hit by one-time costs to respond to "information put into the marketplace" that it "believes to be inaccurate and misleading."