Here's what didn't grow at Scotts in Q2: sales

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company announced a net sales decline for the second quarter, as well as the pending sale of its European and Australian businesses.

Company-wide sales for the quarter ended April 1 were down 3% to $1.20 billion, mainly due to the challenges of matching results from spring 2016's favorable weather conditions.

Net income was $165.2 million, down from $209.8 million in the year-ago period.

“We’ve had strong momentum over the past several weeks and consumer purchases entering May – historically the peak of the lawn and garden season – are down less than one percent from last year,” said Jim Hagedorn, chairman and CEO. “We expected a difficult comparison through the first half of the year and we are confident in how we are positioned for the balance of the season. We also remain pleased with the continued double-digit growth so far this year in our hydroponics products sold by the Hawthorne Gardening business.”

ScottsMiracle-Gro has also received a binding and irrevocable offer for its European and Australian consumer operations from Exponent Private Equity LLP. The proposed transaction, valued at approximately $250 million, is expected to close during the fourth quarter.

This sale will mark the final step of "Project Focus," the reconfiguration of the company portfolio outlined at the start of fiscal 2016.

“While this sale is a reflection of our commitment to concentrate more resources on our U.S. business, as we outlined last year in announcing Project Focus, we wanted to make sure we found a partner that would steward these brands, give stability to our associates and provide our shareholders with a fair valuation," Hagedorn said. "We expect this transaction to be seamless to our retail partners, our consumers and our associates.”