Central Garden & Pet Revises Outlook for Fiscal 2022 GAAP EPS

Central Garden & Pet Company (“Central”), a market leader in the Garden and Pet industries, today announced that despite favorable long-term industry trends, several factors have led the Company to lower its outlook for fiscal 2022 GAAP EPS.

“The operating environment continues to be extremely challenging, with high inflation and geopolitical developments unfavorably impacting commodities, labor and freight, significant pricing actions and growing economic uncertainty. As we indicated in early May, the garden season had a late start. Poor weather conditions continued and that, coupled with reduced foot traffic and changing inventory expectations from our customers, led to softness across most of our Garden portfolio, driving the vast majority of the revised guidance,” said Tim Cofer, CEO of Central Garden & Pet.

“While it’s disappointing to not deliver on our original outlook, we nonetheless expect to deliver GAAP EPS at or above prior year, despite the uncertain and inflationary economic environment and two years of extraordinary growth. Importantly, we are confident our Central to Home strategy and the investments we are making will drive profitable long-term growth and allow us to capture opportunities in both the Pet and Garden industries.”

The Company now expects fiscal 2022 GAAP EPS to be at or above prior year GAAP EPS of $2.75. The outlook takes into account increasing costs for commodities and freight, exacerbated by the current geopolitical environment, labor and a return to more normalized consumer demand patterns following extraordinary demand spanning two fiscal years. This guidance further includes anticipated pricing actions across the Company’s portfolio as well as investments in capacity expansion, brand building, consumer insights, innovation and eCommerce to drive sustainable growth. This outlook does not include the impact of acquisitions that may close during fiscal 2022.

The Company will provide further details during its fiscal 2022 Q3 earnings call scheduled for August 3, 2022.

About Central Garden & Pet

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ: CENT) (NASDAQ: CENTA) understands that home is central to life and has proudly nurtured happy and healthy homes for over 40 years. With fiscal 2021 net sales of $3.3 billion, Central is on a mission to lead the future of the pet and garden industries. The Company’s innovative and trusted products are dedicated to helping lawns grow greener, gardens bloom bigger, pets live healthier and communities grow stronger. Central is home to a leading portfolio of more than 65 high-quality brands including Pennington, Nylabone, Kaytee, Amdro and Aqueon, strong manufacturing and distribution capabilities and a passionate, entrepreneurial growth culture. Central Garden & Pet is based in Walnut Creek, California and has over 7,000 employees across North America and Europe. For additional information about Central, please visit www.central.com.

Contact:

Friederike Edelmann – VP, Investor Relations – fedelmann@central.com – (925) 412-6726

Source: Central Garden & Pet Company