Tuesday, The Scotts Miracle-Gro Co. (SMG) said its first-quarter loss from continuing operations narrowed to $49.8 million or $0.76 per share from $52.9 million or $0.82 per share in the prior year period. Net loss for the quarter widened to $57.7 million from $57.0 million in the earlier period. Net loss per share for the quarter remained flat at $0.88.
The company said that the adjusted loss from continuing operations, which excludes the costs related to product registration and recall matters, was $48.1 million or $0.73 per share compared with a loss of $48.0 million or $0.74 per share in the year-ago period. On average, 10 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report loss of $0.83 per share for the quarter.
Net sales for the quarter rose 6% to $302.2 million from $286.1 million in the comparable period. Seven analysts estimated revenues of $288.27 million for the quarter.
The company re-affirmed its full-year outlook on an adjusted basis at a range of $3.00 - $3.10 per share, assuming sales growth of 3% - 5%, flat gross margin rate and flat SG&A. The forecast assumes interest expense to be at the high-end of the original outlook of $50 million - $55 million due to the company's $200 million senior notes offering completed in January, but excludes the impact of product recall and registration matters. Elven analysts estimate earnings of $3.12 per share for the year.
For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.com