Patterson Companies reported lower sales in its dental segment for the third quarter of fiscal 2018.
For the quarter (end-January 27), sales in the company's dental segment were $577.9 million, down 7.7% compared with $626.3 million in the same quarter of 2017. The dental segment represents approximately 42% of total company sales.
Sales of consumable dental supplies decreased 7.4% to $302,000 compared with $325,000 for the same quarter of 2017. Equipment sales declined 10.6% to $207,000, compared with $230,000 last year. The company attributed the decrease in equipment sales to changes in the company's sales force and other factors.
Patterson posted net income of $109.0 million for the quarter, compared with net income of $27.8 million in the same quarter a year ago, but this 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.
