Business Segment Data

12 Months Ended

Sep. 27, 2014

Segment Reporting [Abstract]

Business Segment Data

19. Business Segment Data

The Company’s chief operating decision-maker is its Chief Executive Officer. Operating segments are managed separately because each segment represents a strategic business that offers different products or services. The Company’s chief operating decision maker evaluates performance based on profit or loss from operations. The Company’s Corporate division is included in the following presentation since certain expenses of this division are not allocated separately to the two operating segments. Segment assets exclude cash equivalents, short-term investments, goodwill, and deferred taxes.

Management has determined that the Company has two operating segments which are also reportable segments based on the level at which the chief operating decision maker reviews the results of operations to make decisions regarding performance assessment and resource allocation. These operating segments are the Pet segment and the Garden segment. Substantially all of the Company’s assets and operations relate to its business in the United States.

The Pet segment consists of Four Paws Products, TFH Publications, Kaytee, Aquatics, Interpet, Pets International, Breeder’s Choice and Life Sciences. These businesses are engaged in the manufacturing, purchase, sale and delivery of internally and externally produced pet supplies, books and food principally to independent pet distributors, national and regional retail chains, grocery stores, mass merchants and bookstores. The Garden segment consists of Pennington Seed, Matthews Four Seasons, Grant’s, AMBRANDS, Lilly Miller, the Pottery Group, Gulfstream and GKI/Bethlehem Lighting. Products manufactured, designed and sourced, or distributed are products found typically in the lawn and garden sections of mass merchandisers, warehouse-type clubs, home improvement centers and nurseries and include grass seed, bird feed, clay pottery, outdoor wooden planters and trellises, herbicides and insecticides. These products are sold directly to national and regional retail chains, independent garden distributors, grocery stores, nurseries and garden supply retailers.

The Corporate division includes expenses associated with corporate functions and projects, certain employee benefits, interest income, interest expense and intersegment eliminations.

The following table indicates each class of similar products which represented more than 10% of the Company’s consolidated net sales in the fiscal years presented (in millions).

Category	2014		2013		2012
Pet supplies (excluding wild bird feed)	$	774.2	$	807.4	$	847.1
Garden controls and fertilizer products		262.5		274.9		281.7
Wild bird feed		202.1		210.8		205.1
Other garden supplies		182.5		183.5		185.7
Grass seed		183.1		177.0		180.4
Total	$	1,604.4	$	1,653.6	$	1,700.0

See Note 5 – Concentrations of Credit Risk and Significant Customers and Suppliers, for the Company’s largest customers by segment.

Financial information relating to the Company’s business segments for each of the three most recent fiscal years is presented in the table below (in thousands):

	Fiscal Year Ended
	September 27, 2014			September 28, 2013			September 29, 2012
Net sales:
Pet segment	$	845,505		$	888,228		$	930,753
Garden segment		758,852			765,405			769,260
Total	$	1,604,357		$	1,653,633		$	1,700,013
Income (loss) from operations:
Pet segment	$	88,077		$	95,451		$	87,650
Garden segment		41,020	(1)		8,286	(2)		40,376
Corporate		(72,884	)		(63,582	)		(53,605	)
Total		56,213			40,155			74,421
Interest expense		(42,844	)		(43,112	)		(40,315	)
Interest income		94			142			145
Other income (expense)		403			(677	)		678
Income (loss) before income taxes and noncontrolling interest		13,866			(3,492	)		34,929
Income tax expense (benefit)		4,045			(2,592	)		12,816
Net income (loss) including noncontrolling interest		9,821			(900	)		22,113
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interest		1,017			1,029			940
Net income (loss) attributable to Central Garden & Pet Company	$	8,804		$	(1,929	)	$	21,173
Assets:
Pet segment	$	414,279		$	425,988		$	411,059
Garden segment		337,461			388,581			341,716
Corporate and eliminations		396,987			346,591			396,772
Total	$	1,148,727		$	1,161,160		$	1,149,547
Depreciation and amortization:
Pet segment	$	17,256		$	15,753		$	14,507
Garden segment		6,793			6,410			6,213
Corporate		11,732			10,805			9,705
Total	$	35,781		$	32,968		$	30,425
Expenditures for long-lived assets:
Pet segment	$	8,561		$	9,694		$	15,540
Garden segment		5,541			7,496			4,138
Corporate		3,071			7,982			19,914
Total	$	17,173		$	25,172		$	39,592

Noncontrolling interest is associated with the Garden segment.

(1) Includes a $16.9 million charge related to certain products introduced in fiscal and a $4.9 million gain from the sale of manufacturing plant assets.

(2) Includes goodwill impairment of $7.7 million and an $11.2 million charge related to certain products introduced in fiscal 2013.