Patterson Companies Q1 Profit Rises; Backs FY15 EPS View - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - Patterson Companies Inc. (PDCO) reported that its net income for the first quarter of fiscal 2015 rose to $50.3 million, or $0.50 per share, from $45.9 million, or $0.45 per share, in the year-ago period. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $0.50 per share. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Fiscal 2015 first quarter results included $173.6 million of consolidated sales and an earnings contribution of $0.02 per share from the acquisition in the United Kingdom of National Veterinary Services Limited (NVS), which closed on August 16, 2013.

Consolidated sales for the quarter totaled $1.06 billion an increase of more than 20 percent from $880.1 million in the year-earlier period. Wall Street expected revenues of $1.04 billion for the quarter.

The company maintained its fiscal 2015 earnings guidance in a range of $2.20-$2.30 per share. Analysts project annual earnings per share of $2.26.

"We believe that the recent change announced by IDEXX Laboratories, Inc., to move to a direct sales and distribution model in the veterinary market effective January 1, 2015, does not materially impact our fiscal 2015 outlook and we expect to mitigate the potential reduction in net income from this move. Again, this year we are focused on execution in order to capitalize on the growth opportunities that will come from the investments we are making and the strategies we are implementing to further enhance our product and service offering," said Scott Anderson, chairman and chief executive officer.