Patterson reports higher dental sales in Q3

Patterson Companies reported higher sales in its dental segment for the third quarter of fiscal 2019.

For the quarter (end-January 26), sales in the company's dental segment were $579.7 million, up 0.9% compared with $577.9 million in the same quarter of 2018. The dental segment represents approximately 42% of total company sales.

Sales of consumable dental supplies for the third quarter decreased 2.5% to $294.7 million from $302.3 million for the same quarter of 2018. Equipment sales increased 5.1% to $217.6 million compared with $207 million in the same period for the previous year.

Patterson posted net income of $31.2 million for the quarter, compared with net income of $109 million in the same quarter a year ago. Last year's increase included a provisional net tax benefit of more than $77.3 million from the recent passage of the U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the company noted.