Walnut Creek, Calif. — Central Garden & Pet reported improved results for the fourth quarter and year ending Sept. 27, 2014. The company had a fourth-quarter loss attributable to the company of $4.1 million ($0.08 per diluted share) on sales of $374.2 million, an improvement over the year-ago loss of $22.6 million ($0.47 per share). Central said fourth-quarter operating for the Garden segment was $6.4 million, up from the year-ago loss of $30.8 million. Sales were $157 million, up 6 percent. For the full-year, Central made it back to the plus column with net income of $8.8 million ($0.18 per share) on sales of $1.6 billion, up from the year-ago loss of $1.93 million ($0.04 per share) and $1.65 billion, respectively. Fiscal 2014 results were negatively impacted by a $16.9 million charge related to the discontinuance of two Garden products introduced in the spring of 2013 and benefited from a $4.9 million gain on the sale of plant manufacturing assets recorded in the third and fourth quarters. Fiscal 2013 results included the $11.2 million Garden charge for discontinued products and a $7.7 million goodwill impairment charge. The Garden segment posted fiscal 2014 sales of $830.2 million, down from the prior year’s $846.2 million. Within the segment, garden controls and fertilizer sales were $262.5 million, down from $274.9 million.
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