PetSmart Q4 profit dips on higher costs

Phoenix PetSmart said Wednesday its fiscal fourth-quarter profit dipped 4% as higher costs offset strong sales performance during the holiday season.

The company said it earned $75 million, compared with earnings of $78.4 million in last year's fourth quarter.

Total sales were $1.41 billion, up 3% from $1.36 billion. But the total cost of sales in the fourth quarter was $989.3 million, up 4.8% from $944.3 million in the year-ago period. Same-store sales rose 1.5%.

Bob Moran, PetSmart's CEO and president, said the company was pleased with the results, which beat analysts’ expectations.

For the full year, earnings were $198.3 million, compared with earnings of $192.7 million, or $1.52 per share, in fiscal year 2008.

Full-year sales were $5.34 billion, up 5.4% from $5.07 billion.