Patterson Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ:PDCO) stock rose 11.07% (As on June 19, 8:00:00 AM UTC-4, Source: Google Finance) after the company posted mixed result for the fourth quarter of FY 24.  The company faced a challenging market environment but managed to maintain stable performance, driven primarily by strong growth in production animal and dental consumables segments, which saw a 3.7% year-over-year increase. Net income attributable to Patterson Companies, Inc. for the quarter stood at $67.0 million, compared to $75.0 million in the same period last year. This decline is primarily attributed to lower equipment sales and due to a cybersecurity attack on Change Healthcare, a vendor partner. In the dental segment, reported net sales were $657.8 million, with internal sales decreasing by 3.8% year-over-year. However, internal sales of dental consumables increased by 3.7%, excluding the deflationary impact of certain infection control products. The animal health segment reported net sales of $1.06 billion, with internal sales growth of 2.5% driven by the production animal business. This segment also saw a notable increase in value-added services by 15.0%.

PDCO in the fourth quarter of FY 24 has reported the adjusted earnings per share of 82 cents, missing the analysts’ estimates for the adjusted earnings per share of 83 cents. The company had reported the adjusted revenue growth of 0.1 percent to $1.72 billion in the fourth quarter of FY 24, beating the analysts’ estimates for revenue of $1.70 billion. Internal sales, which are adjusted for the effects of currency translation and the net impact of an interest rate swap, decreased 0.5 percent over the prior year period.

Additionally, during fiscal 2024, Patterson Companies used $789.4 million of cash from operating activities and collected deferred purchase price receivables of $1.03 billion, generating $238.9 million in cash, compared to generating $244.1 million during fiscal 2023. Free cash flow during fiscal 2024 declined by $8.6 million compared to the fiscal 2023 period due to operational performance and an increased level of capital spending during fiscal 2024. At of the end of fiscal 2024, Patterson had approximately $500 million of share repurchase authority remaining on its current share repurchase authorization.

Looking ahead to fiscal 2025, the company expects GAAP earnings to be between $2.00 and $2.10 per diluted share and non-GAAP adjusted earnings to be between $2.33 and $2.43 per diluted share. The guidance also takes into account the expected impact of deal amortization expenses, estimated at approximately $29.1 million or $0.33 per diluted share.