Scotts posts a $33 million Q4 loss
Scotts Miracle-Gro, the consumer lawn and garden products manufacturer, reported fourth quarter 2017 net sales of $376.7 million, up 8% from fourth quarter 2016 net sales of $348.7 million. For fiscal 2017, ended Sept. 30, the company reported net sales of $2.64 billion, a 5% increase from 2016 net sales of $2.5 billion.
The Marysville, Ohio-based company noted that sales in the U.S. consumer segment decreased 7% in the fourth quarter to $258.1 million due primarily to lower sales in the mass retail channel. Consumer purchases of Scott’s products at its largest four retail partners declined 1% on a full-year basis.
While the company reported a profit of $218.3 million for 2017, Scotts reported a loss of $33.4 million for the fourth quarter.
The company also reported that its operating cash flow for the year was $354 million compared with $237 million a year earlier.
“Our focus on cash flow throughout the year provided an outstanding result, and cash flow will continue to be a primary focus for Scotts Miracle-Gro in 2018 and beyond,” said Jim Hagedorn, Scott’s chairman and CEO. “The combination of our operating cash flow, a strong balance sheet, proceeds from the recent sale of our Europe and Australia businesses and an $87 million distribution we received from TruGreen gave us the financial fuel we needed in 2017 to invest in higher-growth businesses while also aggressively returning cash to shareholders.”
Scotts received an $87 million dividend payment from TruGreen associated with its minority interest in the lawn service company. In 2016, Scotts Miracle-Gro contributed its Scotts Lawn Service business into a joint venture with TruGreen in exchange for a 30 percent interest in the combined business. As of Aug. 31, 2017, Scotts had received nearly $290 million in cash as a result of its ownership stake.
This past August, Scotts also sold its international consumer businesses to Exponent Private Equity, LLP. The transaction included Scotts Miracle-Gro operations in Australia, Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Poland and the United Kingdom.
