Patterson Cos. (NASDAQ: PDCO) reported Q1 EPS of $0.33, $0.10 better than the analyst estimate of $0.23. Revenue for the quarter came in at $1.25 billion versus the consensus estimate of $1.18 billion.

• Delivered first quarter GAAP earnings of $0.25 per diluted share; adjusted earnings1 were $0.33 per diluted share, an increase of 22 percent year-over-year.
• Increased adjusted operating margin1 by 40 bps year-over-year to 3.8 percent, due to aggressive cost savings measures, sequentially improving sales during the first quarter and operational execution.
• Dental and Animal Health segments recovering despite ongoing end market disruption due to COVID-19 as year-over-year sales performance improved each fiscal month throughout the first quarter.

“We are pleased with our team’s performance in the first quarter as we delivered year-over-year adjusted earnings growth of 22 percent even with the ongoing challenges due to COVID-19,” said Mark Walchirk, President and CEO of Patterson Companies. “We are encouraged by the sequential sales trends across our Dental, Companion Animal and Production Animal end markets, which improved each month during the first quarter.

“The aggressive cost savings measures we took at the onset of the pandemic, combined with improving sales trends and focused execution, drove our strong first quarter performance. While many of our cost saving measures remain in place, certain temporary actions such as furloughs and salary reductions have ended. Going forward, as the dynamics across our end markets continue to evolve, we are prepared to take additional cost saving actions, if necessary.

“I am incredibly proud of how our Patterson team has responded these past six months to support our customers during this challenging time as they continue to provide essential services in their communities. Our ongoing dedication to helping our customers succeed has reinforced and deepened our full-service value proposition and positioned Patterson for continued success. While uncertainty related to COVID-19 remains, we are encouraged by our performance in the current environment and believe we have the right strategy in place to drive long-term value for our shareholders.”

Fiscal 2021 Guidance

Due to the continued uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on business operations, Patterson is not providing fiscal 2021 financial guidance at this time.

For earnings history and earnings-related data on Patterson Cos. (PDCO) click here.