Patterson Posts Below Analysts' Expectations

Patterson Companies (PDCO Quote) CEO James W. Wiltz had a familiar message for anyone anticipating the company's fourth quarter earnings this morning: blame the economy. But it appears investors didn't like the message, the earnings or the downtrodden guidance. Following an announced 15% quarterly drop in profit this morning, the dental and veterinary equipment supplier's share price fell off nearly 11% by closing today.

"Our fourth-quarter operating results were below our expectations," Wiltz said in a release, "as we experienced reduced customer demand for the capital equipment offerings at each of our three businesses."

The company reported net income of $54 million, or 46 cents per share. That was well short of average analysts' expectations of 50 cents, according to Thomson Reuters. Patterson also showed sales of $779.9 million, which was a slight upnote from the previous year. ...