DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
Patterson Cos.'s (PDCO) fiscal fourth-quarter profit grew 1.5%
on across-the-board sales growth, topping Wall Street expectations
for the period.
The wholesaler of dental, veterinary and other products has
posted strong revenue growth over most of the past year, especially
in the dental business, its largest by revenue. Revenue in that
unit slid in the third quarter, but it reported renewed growth in
the fourth quarter largely on sales of new-technology equipment,
including dental restorative systems and digital radiography
products.
"We believe the fundamentals of the North American dental market
are continuing to strengthen as evidenced by our improved
consumables sales growth in recent periods," President and Chief
Executive Scott P. Anderson said. "Given this market firming, we
believe the improvement in our dental equipment business indicates
that dentists are gradually becoming more confident about investing
in their practices."
For the quarter ended April 30, Patterson reported a profit of
$62.7 million, or 53 cents a share, up from $61.8 million, or 52
cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue rose 8.7% to $883.8 million.
Analysts most recently projected earnings of 51 cents a share on
revenue of $845 million.
Gross margin narrowed to 34.4% from 35.4%.
The company's dental-supply business reported 4.7% revenue
growth as sales of consumable dental supplies increased 2.5% and
dental equipment and software sales rose 11%.
Veterinary sales grew 14%, while the rehabilitation supply and
equipment unit posted a 22% sales jump.
For the current fiscal year, Patterson guided for a per-share
profit of $1.90 to $2, including an estimated 12-cent impact from
stock-related compensation. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters most
recently projected $2.08 a share.
Shares closed at $35.13 Wednesday and were inactive premarket.
The stock has gained 21% over the past 12 months.
-By Drew FitzGerald, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2909;
Andrew.FitzGerald@dowjones.com