Shares of Central Garden & Pet surged 8.8% to $42.44 following the company’s announcement of a profitable quarter. Central Garden & Pet, a company specializing in pet and garden products, experienced a 26% increase in stock value over the past year.
For the fiscal first quarter ended on December 30, the company reported a net income of $430,000, or 1 cent per share. This marks a significant improvement from the prior-year period, where they experienced a loss of $8.4 million, or 16 cents per share. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had predicted a loss of 17 cents per share, making Central Garden & Pet’s performance exceed expectations.
Interim Chief Executive, Beth Springer, attributed the positive results to improved gross margins and early season shipments. Sales for the quarter reached $634.5 million, surpassing expectations of $617.7 million.
While sales in the pet segment declined by 2% compared to the prior year due to lower sales of durable pet products, the garden segment reported a 6% sales increase. This growth was driven by early season shipments in controls & fertilizer, grass, and packet seeds.
Central Garden & Pet released these quarterly results on Wednesday after the market had closed.
