Central Garden & Pet narrows loss

Central Garden & Pet Company had positive things to say about its performance in the first fiscal quarter of 2015: a 6% increase in sales and a narrowing of its net loss to $0.12 per share.

“We are beginning to see signs of progress from our efforts to improve our business and better utilize our resources,” said John Ranelli, president & CEO of Central Garden & Pet. “As a result of these efforts, our operations are becoming more efficient and we are executing better.”

Central Garden & Pet Company had positive things to say about its performance in the first fiscal quarter of 2015: a 6% increase in sales and a narrowing of its net loss to $0.12 per share.

“We are beginning to see signs of progress from our efforts to improve our business and better utilize our resources,” said John Ranelli, president & CEO of Central Garden & Pet. “As a result of these efforts, our operations are becoming more efficient and we are executing better.”

Net sales for the quarter ended Dec. 27, 2014 were $307.3 million, up from $290.5 million in year-ago terms. This was buyoed by sales progress in both the Pet and Garden segments.

Gross margin was also up 120 basis points to 28.6%, and the company pulled ahead in terms of operating income: $1.1 million compared to a loss of $8.4 million.

Central Garden & Pet was still in the red for the quarter, though not as deeply. A first quarter net loss of $5.7 million was up from last year's loss of $12.7 million. The company noted that its first quarter typically corresponds to a net loss due to the seasonal nature of lawn & garden.

"As we expected, we delivered higher sales, improved gross margin, and lower SG&A expenses in our first fiscal quarter," added Ranelli. "This follows on the heels of an improved fourth quarter. While we believe the strides we have taken will continue to benefit our results in the future, the next couple of quarters are not expected to have positive comparisons to the prior year. As we previously indicated, our results are likely to be choppy in the near-term, even while we continue to make progress on building our foundation for the long-term.”