PetSmart on Wednesday reported fiscal Q4 adjusted earnings above analysts’ expectations as the provider of pet products and services also posted a bigger-than-expected increase in revenue and said it is on track to meet or exceed its cost-cutting target.
For the 13 weeks ended Feb. 1, 2015, net income edged up to $132.1 million, or $1.32 per diluted share, from $131.5 million, or $1.28 per diluted share, for the 13 weeks ended Feb. 2, 2014. The per-share comparison was skewed by a 2.7% reduction in the number of shares outstanding.
Adjusted to exclude one-time items, the latest quarter’s earnings were $1.43 per diluted share, up from $1.28 per diluted share a year earlier and above the $1.38 per share expected on average by analysts polled by Capital IQ.
Net sales rose to $1.91 billion from $1.80 billion a year earlier, topping analysts’ mean forecast for $1.87 billion. Comparable-store sales growth, or sales in stores open at least one year including sales from online websites operated at least one year, rose 2.6%.
In an update on the cost-cutting program it announced in Q3 2014, the company said it believes it is on track to meet or exceed its run-rate pretax cost-savings target of $200 million by the end of fiscal 2016. Total savings of approximately $6 million were realized during Q4 while fiscal-year total savings were approximately $8 million.
PetSmart also said it expects its pending acquisition by a consortium led by BC Partners at $83.00 per share in cash to close in Q1 2015. The special meeting of shareholders to consider and vote on the transaction will be held on March 6.
The company didn’t provide any guidance, citing its pending acquisition. PETM was up by $0.01 per share in recent pre-market trading at $82.94, in a 52-week range of $55.00 to $83.49.
