Patterson Dental financials stay the course in Q2

Sales of Patterson Dental Supply -- Patterson Companies' largest business -- were $537 million in the second quarter of FY2010 (end-October 24), virtually unchanged from $536.8 million in the same quarter a year ago, the company announced.

Quarterly sales of consumable dental supplies and printed office products were down 2% year over year, while sales of dental equipment and software increased 3% from the year-earlier level. Within this product category, sales of Cerec dental restorative systems rose 45%, which offset a 7% decline in sales of basic equipment, including chairs, units, and lights.

Sales of other services and products, consisting primarily of technical service parts and labor, software support services, and artificial teeth, rose 4% from last year's second quarter, the company said.

Patterson Companies reported sales of $815 million for the quarter, up 7% from $759 million in the year-earlier quarter. Net income was $49.3 million, up 5% from $46.9 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2009.

"We are generally pleased with Patterson's second quarter performance as our businesses held up relatively well despite the ongoing impact of the recession," president and CEO James W. Wiltz said in the release. "Within our Patterson Dental unit, the market for consumable supplies has been affected by high unemployment levels, but our sales of these products have remained generally stable during the first half of fiscal 2010. At the same time, we believe the weak economy has been causing many dental practitioners to focus their investment dollars on equipment with rapid and high rates of return. This consideration helps explain the strong growth of Cerec dental restorative products thus far in fiscal 2010 and why sales of basic equipment have tended to lag."

As previously reported, Wiltz will retire as president and CEO of Patterson Companies at the end of the current fiscal year (April 24, 2010). He will be succeeded by Scott P. Anderson, currently president of Patterson Dental Supply.

In a related move, Paul A. Guggenheim, currently southwest region manager of Patterson Dental, will become president of Patterson Dental at the end of fiscal 2010.