PetSmart net income grows in Q1; same-store sales miss

Phoenix – PetSmart Inc. posted a 1.3% increase in net income during the first quarter of fiscal 2014, rising to $104 million from $102 million in the first quarter of the prior year. Net sales increased 1.1% to $1.7 billion, but same-store sales missed Wall Street expectations by falling 0.6%.



PetSmart cited a challenging and volatile consumer environment and a competitive market as contributing to its weaker-than-anticipated same-store sales results.



Looking ahead, the company anticipates same-store sales for the full year to remain relatively flat, net sales growth in the low-single digits and earnings per share to range between $4.29 and $4.39. For the second quarter, the company anticipates comparable-store sales growth to remain flat or decrease slightly and earnings per share of $0.92 to $0.96.



“We are pleased with the company’s ability to achieve earnings per share growth of 6.1% while continuing to drive earnings before tax margin expansion during the first quarter,” said PetSmart president and CEO David Lenhardt. “However, we did not achieve our sales goals, which were impacted by a challenging and volatile consumer environment and a competitive market.”