Patterson Dental Supply reported sales of $572 million for its 2010 fiscal third quarter (end-January 23), down 2% from $584 million in the same quarter a year ago. Particularly hard hit were sales of dental equipment and software, which declined 10% from the year-earlier level.
Sales of consumable dental supplies and printed office products rose 2% from last year's third quarter. Internally generated sales, excluding foreign currency adjustments and acquisitions, were up slightly, marking the first such sales growth for consumables since the fall of 2008 when the U.S. economy started to deteriorate sharply, the company noted.
Sales of other services and products, consisting primarily of technical service parts and labor, software support services, and artificial teeth, rose 10% from last year's third quarter.
"Patterson's third quarter operating results were largely consistent with our internal forecasts as our businesses continued to experience the impact of weak economic conditions," said James Wiltz, president and chief CEO, in a press release. "We are encouraged that sales of dental consumable supplies started trending upward in the third quarter. However, we believe the purchasing decisions of dental practitioners for new equipment continued to be affected by the soft economy."
Although sales of Cerec dental restorative systems were down modestly in the third quarter, sales were up on a sequential quarterly basis, he added. "This was encouraging since new systems accounted for a substantial portion of third-quarter Cerec sales, not trade-ins for the upgraded imaging unit."
As previously announced, Wiltz will retire as president and CEO of Patterson Companies at the end of the current fiscal year (April 24, 2010). Scott P. Anderson, currently president of Patterson Dental Supply, will replace Wiltz.
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