PetSmart Updates Estimated Q4 Results

PetSmart, a specialty pet retailer of services and solutions for the needs of pets, has reported that it now expects comparable store sales growth between 0% and 1% for the fourth quarter of its 2007 fiscal year.

PetSmart’s earnings per share (EPS) projection is now $0.57 to $0.61 per diluted share for the fourth quarter, which includes an estimated benefit of $0.07 per share for a 53rd week of sales. The revised forecast compares with the company’s previous estimates of diluted EPS of $0.70 to $0.74 in the fourth quarter, which included an estimate of $0.08 per share for a 53rd week of sales.

Philip Francis, chairman and CEO of PetSmart, said: “We experienced relatively weak sales during the later half of November and the majority of December in what we believe was a challenging consumer environment. We are encouraged by slight improvements during the last week of December and first part of January; however, it is unlikely those improvements are significant enough for us to achieve our previously announced EPS estimates.”