Patterson Companies Earnings: The Profit Streak Continues

S&P 500 (NYSE:SPY) component Patterson Companies Inc. (NASDAQ:PDCO) reported its results for the fourth quarter. Patterson Companies distributes dental, companion-pet veterinarian, and rehabilitation supplies.

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Patterson Companies Inc. Earnings Cheat Sheet

Results: Net income for Patterson Companies Inc. fell to $62.1 million (58 cents per share) vs. $62.7 million (53 cents per share) a year earlier. This is a decline of 0.9% from the year-earlier quarter.

Revenue: Rose 5.9% to $936.3 million from the year-earlier quarter.

Actual vs. Wall St. Expectations: Patterson Companies Inc. reported adjusted net income of 61 cents per share. By that measure, the company beat the mean estimate of 57 cents per share. It beat the average revenue estimate of $915.8 million.

Quoting Management: Scott P. Anderson, president and chief executive officer, commented: “We are encouraged by Patterson’s improved fourth quarter results as each of our three businesses operated at planned levels despite persistently soft economic conditions. Within Patterson Dental, sales of consumable supplies increased for the fourth consecutive quarter, an indication of the continued strengthening of the overall North American dental market. We also are encouraged by the solid improvement in sales of dental equipment given the fact that equipment sales were particularly robust in the year-earlier period. In addition to mid-single digit sales growth of basic equipment, we benefited from strong demand for CEREC systems from new users. We believe this reflects the growing acceptance of CAD/CAM and other new digital technologies that are enabling dentists to strengthen productivity, generate additional income and improve clinical outcomes. To capitalize upon this growing market trend, which is still at an early stage, we will continue to focus our marketing initiatives on Patterson Dental’s industry-leading offerings of technology products.”

Key Stats:

The company has now seen net income fall for four quarters in a row. In the third quarter, net income fell 4.1% while the figure fell 8.3% in the second quarter and 9.9% in the first quarter.

The company beat estimates last quarter after meeting expectations in the third quarter with net income of 50 cents per share.

The company’s revenue has now risen for two straight quarters. In the third quarter, revenue increased 8.5% to $895 million from the year-earlier quarter.

Looking Forward: Expectations for the company’s next-quarter performance are higher than they were ninety days ago. Over the past three months, the average estimate for the first quarter of the next fiscal year has risen to 49 cents per share from 48 cents. At $1.91 per share, the average estimate for the fiscal year has fallen from $1.92 ninety days ago.

(Company fundamentals provided by Xignite Financials. Earnings estimates provided by Zacks)

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