EDGAR 10-K Filing

Company CIK: 887733
Filing Year: 2023
Filename: 887733_10-K_2023_0000887733-23-000017.json

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ITEM 1. BUSINESS
Item 1. Business
Our Company
Central Garden & Pet Company (“Central”) is a market leader in the pet and garden industries in the United States. For over 40 years, Central has proudly nurtured happy and healthy homes by bringing innovative and trusted solutions to consumers and customers. We manage our operations through two reportable segments: Pet and Garden.
Our Pet segment includes dog and cat supplies such as dog treats and chews, toys, pet beds and containment, grooming products, waste management and training pads; supplies for aquatics, small animals, reptiles and pet birds including toys, cages and habitats, bedding, food and supplements; products for equine and livestock, animal and household health and insect control products; live fish and small animals as well as outdoor cushions. These products are sold under brands such as Aqueon®, Cadet®, Comfort Zone®, Farnam®, Four Paws®, K&H Pet Products® (“K&H”), Kaytee®, Nylabone® and Zilla®.
Our Garden segment includes lawn and garden consumables such as grass seed; vegetable, flower and herb packet seed; wild bird feed, bird houses and other birding accessories; weed, grass, and other herbicides, insecticide and pesticide products; fertilizers and live plants. These products are sold under brands such as Amdro®, Ferry-Morse®, Pennington® and Sevin®.
The following charts indicate each class of similar products that represented approximately 10% or more of our consolidated net sales and the percentage of net sales represented by each segment in fiscal 2023.
Strategy
Our Central to Home strategy reinforces our unique purpose to nurture happy and healthy homes and our ambition to lead the future of the pet and garden industries. Our objective is to grow net sales, operating income and cash flows by developing new products, increasing market share, acquiring businesses and working in partnership with our customers to grow the categories in which we participate. We run our business with a long-term perspective, and we believe the successful delivery of our strategy will enable us to create long-term value for all our stakeholders. To achieve our objective, we plan to capitalize on our competitive strengths and favorable industry trends by executing on five key strategic pillars to drive long-term growth:
Consumer: Build and Grow Brands that Consumers Love
To grow, we are seeking to develop more differentiated new products and reinvest some of our annual cost savings in brand building and demand creation to help us drive sustainable organic growth and build market share. We continuously strive to get a deeper understanding of our consumers, the products and features they desire and how they make their purchasing decisions. We are investing in consumer insights, data analytics as well as research and development to achieve our innovation goals with a strong pipeline of new products. We recognize that consumers are increasingly researching, as well as buying products online and we continue to advance our digital capabilities. We have seen promising early marketing campaign results driving accelerated growth and share gains across several brands, including our Pennington “FlipTheTurf” and Zilla “Rep Yourself” campaigns.
Customer: Win with Winning Customers and Channels
We are building on our strong customer relationships by developing and executing winning category growth strategies. We produce both branded and private label products for our customers as well as distribute third-party brands that give our retail partners a breadth of selection from premium to value products. Recent trends have shown that eCommerce channels, including pure-play, omnichannel and direct-to-consumer, are the preferred solutions for today's convenience-oriented consumers. To address the changing consumer landscape, we continue to build out our digital and eCommerce capabilities while also ensuring we have the right policies, products and programs to allow all channels to compete effectively. Concurrently, we are optimizing our supply chain for high-demand eCommerce items to ensure customer and consumer availability requirements are met at optimal cost. Finally, we are also investing in sales planning, net revenue management and price pack architecture.
Central: Fortify the Central Portfolio
We are managing each business differentially, based on clearly articulated strategies that define the role of each business within our portfolio. We regularly assess the profitability and growth potential of each of our businesses. All businesses have clear roles in the portfolio and a strategy that is consistent with that role. Some of our businesses are managed to optimize top-line growth, whereas others are more focused on reducing costs and maximizing operating income.
We are building out our portfolio in attractive, broadly defined pet and garden markets. We are supplementing our organic growth with acquisitions and joint ventures. Our M&A priorities are to build scale in our core pet and garden categories, enter priority adjacencies and enhance key capabilities, for example in digital and eCommerce. We generally seek growth and margin accretive, brand-focused companies with talented management teams. We are also committed to divesting businesses where we cannot find a path to profitability and have done so in the past. For example, we sold our distribution business into the independent garden channel in 2023.
Central Ventures, our venture fund which we established in 2020, further supports our M&A strategy. Our objective is to partner with leading entrepreneurs and innovators in the pet and garden industries and leverage our experience and capabilities to accelerate growth. The fund is primarily focused on three emerging growth areas in our two industries: sustainability, health and wellness, and digitally connected products and services.
Grounded in our purpose to nurture happy and healthy homes, we are working towards a more sustainable future for all. We believe we have not only the opportunity but also the responsibility to make a difference and drive positive change. Our Central Impact strategy - focused on protecting our planet, cultivating our communities and empowering our employees - is our commitment and approach to corporate sustainability.
Cost: Reduce Cost to Improve Margins and Fuel Growth
Optimizing our supply chain footprint is a priority as we seek to become more efficient and cost-effective. Having the right facilities in the right locations is critical to lowering costs and enabling our businesses to meet the demands of our existing and new customers. We have already consolidated some of our dog and cat treat and toy businesses and numerous garden manufacturing facilities. We combined our outdoor cushion business with our pet bed business given the synergies in sourcing, manufacturing and innovation, and recently closed a pet bedding facility.
In addition to the short-term actions we have taken in recent quarters to cut costs, we are advancing our plans to more significantly simplify our business and improve our efficiency across the organization by rationalizing our footprint, streamlining our portfolio, and improving our cost structure. The focus of our Cost and Simplicity program is on a number of key areas, including procurement, logistics, manufacturing, portfolio optimization and administrative costs. We expect to reduce complexity, which means fewer SKUs, fewer plants and fewer distribution centers. We further expect lower cost of goods sold through lower logistics costs and better procurement, lower administrative costs through scale, leverage and efficiency, and a gradual shift in focus to our higher margin, higher growth potential branded pet and garden consumer products.
Culture: Strengthen Our Entrepreneurial Business-Unit Led Growth Culture
Our values, created by leaders across the Company, are the cornerstone of our culture, and they are at the root of every decision we make - we call them “The Central Way.” We believe having a strong set of values provides a foundation for employees and strengthens how we all work together. They comprise six simple values: “We do the right thing.” “We strive to be the best.” “We are entrepreneurial.” “We win together.” “We grow every day.” and “We are passionate.”
We believe one of the reasons our employees work at Central is because they love the pet and garden categories, and that creates a passionate and effective team. We strive to make Central a great place to work that embraces diversity and inclusion.
In fiscal 2023, we introduced the Women in Leadership Council, a collective of senior female leaders from across Central brought together to help advance women at Central. The Council has established four committees that are dedicated to making progress across key areas that align with our diversity & inclusion strategy. These key areas are mentorship, leadership development, retention & recruiting and employee education.
Competitive Strengths
We believe we have a number of competitive strengths, which serve as the foundation of our Central to Home strategy, including the following:
Broad Portfolio of Leading Brands Across Key Pet and Garden Segments
We are one of the leaders in the U.S. pet supplies market and the lawn and garden consumables market. We have a diversified portfolio of brands in both segments, many of which are among the leading brands in their respective market categories, ranging from Kaytee in pet bird and small animal, Nylabone in dog toys, Cadet in dog treats and chews, Four Paws in waste management and grooming, K&H in heated pet products, Aqueon in aquatics and Farnam in equine to Pennington in wild bird products, grass seed and fertilizer, Ferry-Morse in packet seed and Amdro in controls. The majority of our brands have been marketed and sold for more than 40 years.
Robust Financial Performance
We have demonstrated strength in our financial performance, in net sales, earnings and cash flow. Our net sales grew on average 8.4% annually over the last five years, driven by acquisitions and organic growth. Operating income grew on average 4.7% on a GAAP basis annually over the same period. We have a strong cash and liquidity position driven by a combination of capital raises and cash flow from operations which puts us in a strong position to grow further through both acquisitions and organically.
Proven Track Record of M&A
Since 1992, we have completed over 60 acquisitions to create a company of approximately $3.3 billion in net sales. These acquisitions have successfully expanded the breadth of our pet and garden portfolios. Most recently, in early November 2023, we acquired TDBBS, LLC, a provider of premium natural dog chews and treats. The addition of TDBBS will expand our portfolio with bully and collagen sticks, bones and jerky, add scale to our dog and cat business and enhance our eCommerce and digital capabilities.
We are a patient and disciplined value buyer, typically focused on opportunities that build scale in our core pet and garden categories or in priority adjacencies, with a recent emphasis on those that enhance key capabilities, for example in digital and eCommerce. We are open to businesses that, on top of traditional operating synergies, can leverage our expertise and capabilities and allow us to add value through our low-cost manufacturing and distribution competencies. We generally prefer to acquire brand-focused businesses with growth and margin rates above Central’s rates, with proven, seasoned management teams, who are committed to stay with the acquired business. We have been successful in growing our acquisitions organically after acquiring them into our portfolio. We continually review our businesses to ensure they meet expectations and have implemented strategies to reverse sub-par performance when necessary.
Strong Relationships with Retailers
We have developed strong relationships with major and independent brick & mortar and online retailers, providing them broad product offerings including new product innovation, premium brands, private label programs, proprietary sales and logistics capabilities and a high level of customer service. Major retailers value the efficiency of dealing with suppliers with national scope and strong brands. We believe our ability to meet their unique needs for packaging and point of sale displays provides us with a competitive advantage. Independent retailers value our high level of customer service and broad array of premium branded products. We believe these strengths have assisted us in becoming one of the largest pet supplies vendors to Costco, Walmart and Petco, among the largest lawn and garden consumables vendors to Home Depot, Walmart and Lowe’s, in the food, drug and mass merchandise channels, and a leading supplier to independent pet retailers in the United States.
In fiscal 2023, Bell Nursery was named Outdoor Garden Partner of the Year by the Home Depot after having been awarded the Home Depot Environmental Partner of the Year in fiscal 2022, recognizing Bell Nursery’s commitment to sustainability. In fiscal 2022, Petco recognized Central as the Companion Animal Vendor of the Year, and Pet Supplies Plus acknowledged one of our leaders with the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award at their annual Suppliers Awards meeting. Our pet distribution business was awarded the 2022 Distributor of the Year Award by Petsense by Tractor Supply.
Walmart, our largest customer, represented approximately 16% of our total company net sales in fiscal 2023 and 17% in fiscal 2022. Home Depot, our second largest customer, represented approximately 16% of our total company net sales in both fiscal 2023 and 2022. Lowe's, Costco and Petco are also significant customers, and together with Walmart and Home Depot, they accounted for approximately 52% of our net sales in fiscal 2023 and and 51% in fiscal 2022.
Leading Manufacturing, Sales and Distribution Network
We manufacture the majority of our branded products in our network of manufacturing facilities, located primarily in the United States. In addition, some of our proprietary branded products are manufactured by contract manufacturers, including one of our registered active ingredients, (S)-Methoprene, which is manufactured by a third party under an exclusive arrangement.
We are a leading supplier to independent specialty retailers for the pet supplies market and to select national retailers for the lawn and garden consumables market. Our sales and distribution facilities are strategically placed across the United States to allow us to service both our mass market customers, as well as independent pet specialty retail stores, serving traditional brick-and-mortar but increasingly also omnichannel and pure-play retailers selling only through the internet. In addition, we operate facilities in China, Canada, the United Kingdom and Mexico. This network also supports distribution of many other manufacturers’ brands and combines these products with our branded products into single shipments, enabling us to serve our customers in an effective and cost-efficient manner. We believe this gives us a competitive advantage over other suppliers, as this network provides us with key access to independent pet specialty retail stores and select national retail lawn and garden customers that require two-step distribution, facilitating acquisition and maintenance of shelf placement, prompt product replenishment, customization of retailer programs, quick responses to changing customer and retailer preferences, rapid deployment and feedback for new products and immediate exposure for new internally developed and acquired brands.
We plan to continue to utilize our team of dedicated salespeople and our sales and logistics networks to expand sales of our branded pet and garden products.
Strong and Experienced Leadership Team
Our leadership team is committed to delivering value for all our stakeholders and is comprised of highly tenured professionals, combining both deep Central and consumer products industry expertise. We believe the depth and breadth of their perspectives and experiences create an optimal foundation for our entrepreneurial business-unit led growth culture and facilitates innovation, which is critical to capturing and maintaining market share.
In 2023, our Chairman and founder, William E. Brown, was recognized with the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award by the World Pet Association for his achievements and contributions in the pet industry.
Pet Segment
Pet Overview
We are one of the leading producers and marketers of branded pet supplies in the United States. We also produce numerous private label brands. In addition, our Pet segment operates one of the largest sales and distribution networks in the industry, strategically supporting our brands.
Pet Industry Background
The pet industry includes food, supplies, veterinary care and non-medical services, and live animals. We operate primarily in the pet supplies segment of the industry as well as in the live fish and small animal categories. The pet supplies segment includes: dog and cat treats and chews, toys, pet beds and containment, grooming products, waste management and training pads; supplies for aquatics, small animals, reptiles and pet birds including toys, cages and habitats, bedding, food and supplements; products for equine and livestock, animal and household health and insect control products; live fish and small animals. The total annual retail sales of the pet food, treats and chews, supplies, veterinary and non-medical services and live animal industry in 2023 was estimated by Packaged Facts to be approximately $145 billion. We expect the industry to continue to grow from that foundation. Based on Packaged Facts estimates for 2023, we estimate the annual retail sales of the pet supplies, treats and chews, and live animal markets in the categories in which we participate to be approximately $39 billion.
According to Packaged Facts, the U.S. pet supplies market is highly fragmented with over 2,500 manufacturers, ranging from mostly single-category or limited-range players to approximately two dozen companies with a solid multi-category presence. The majority of these smaller companies do not have a captive sales and logistics network and rely on us or other independent distributors to supply their products to regional pet specialty chains and independent retailers.
The pet food and supplies industry retail channel is composed of a wide range of retailers, from national chains like Petco and PetSmart to approximately 5,900 independent/non-chain pet stores in addition to mass-market, farm & feed stores, online and other retailers. In the last decade, independent pet stores have suffered not only from growing online competition, but also competition from mass-market retailers expanding their pet offerings with services and private label products. Following a surge in online ordering for at-home delivery or curbside pickup during the pandemic, eCommerce growth has somewhat moderated today but continues to outpace brick-and-mortar. To counter the success of online retailers, brick-and-mortar based retailers are continuing to add veterinary and non-medical services to their offerings, such as grooming, boarding, and training, attempting to drive in-store traffic and increase profitability.
Long-Term Pet Industry Characteristics
During the Covid-19 pandemic, the pet supplies market benefited from the addition of millions of pets, the heightened focus on wellness among pet owners, the rush of online shopping and adaptability of consumers, marketers, retailers and service providers to meet every pet's healthcare needs. Long term, we believe the U.S. pet supplies market will continue to grow due to favorable trends tracking within the pet industry, including demographics, health and wellness, humanization and premiumization. For the first time, pet ownership is split equally between younger generations (Gen Z and Millennials) and older generations (Gen X and Baby Boomers), with the younger generations spending more on their pet in the past year. A 2023 Packaged Facts survey found that across generations, the majority of pet owners depend on their pets intensely for companionship, affection, fun and mental and physical health benefits. The same survey found that approximately 96% of U.S. pet owners view their pet as family, and pets are interwoven into the lifestyles and daily routines of pet parents. Moreover, the majority of pet owners agree that they look for products to improve their pet's health and well-being.
Branded Pet Products
Our principal pet supplies categories are dog and cat supplies, dog treats and chews; aquatics and reptile supplies, small animal and pet bird supplies, animal health products as well as live fish and small animals. Our Nylabone brand is one of the leading brands in dog toys and treats, Kaytee in pet birds and small animal, Farnam in equine, Aqueon in aquatics and Comfort Zone in cat calming. In addition, we operate our Arden Companies® outdoor cushion business in the Pet segment due to synergies in sourcing, manufacturing and innovation with our pet bed business.
We continuously seek to introduce new products, both as complementary extensions of existing product lines and in new product categories. In fiscal 2023, our Nylabone brand launched a new collection of play toys for imaginative fun as well as four new product lines that include a variety of chew toys and chew treats. These releases feature chew toy shapes inspired by everyday objects with a fun twist; multi-flavored Basted Blast chew toys; the Sneaky SnackerTM chew & treat toy; and Healthy Edibles® Meaty Center chew treats. And our Cadet brand introduced a unique line of all-natural, highly palatable, and digestible long-lasting chews called Bully Hide. In fiscal 2022, we launched Nylabone Gourmet Style chew toys, which are uniquely crafted with enticing gourmet treats, and an exciting combination of flavor bits roasted throughout.
Over the last two years, many of our pet products have won industry awards. In fiscal 2023, our Nylabone brand was selected as a finalist in the 2022 Pet Product News Editors’ Choice Awards for its Gourmet Style chew toys. Aqueon won “Health Focused Product of the Year” and “Waste Innovation of the Year” in the 2023 Pet Innovation Awards in addition to “Runner Up” at the SuperZoo New Product Showcase. In fiscal 2022, Field + Forest™ by Kaytee Hay Bale was selected as an Editor’s Choice Winner by Pet Product News, Nylabone won Chew Toy Product of the Year award, Kaytee NutriSoft™ was selected as winner of the Bird Food Product of the Year award, and Vetrolin® Bath was selected as winner of the Shampoo Product of the Year award in the 2022 Pet Independent Innovation Awards. At SuperZoo 2022, Aqueon Stick’ems™ and Zilla Rapid Sense™ Décor won first place in the New Product Showcase award in the Aquatics and Herptile category.
Dog and Cat. Our dog and cat category, featuring brands such as Cadet, Four Paws, Healthy Edibles®, K&H, Mikki, Nylabone, Nubz®, NutriDent® among others, is an industry leader in manufacturing and marketing premium edible and non-edible chews, interactive toys, grooming supplies and pet beds, pet containment, training and waste management solutions.
Small Animal and Bird Supplies. We are a leading manufacturer of supplies and pet food for small animals, pet birds and wild birds. We offer a full range of products including species specific diets, treats, habitats, bedding, hay and toys under brands such as Kaytee, Critter Trail, C&S Products®, and Field+Forest by Kaytee. Many of our branded wild bird mixes are treated with a proprietary blend of vitamins and minerals. Our brands are some of the most widely recognized and trusted brands for birds and small animals.
Animal Health (Health & Wellness, Equine and Professional). We supply calming products under the Comfort Zone brand, and flea and tick controls under the Adams® brand. We also offer innovative products for horses in the fly control, supplements, grooming, deworming, wound care, leather care and rodenticides categories. Our portfolio of brands for equine includes Farnam, Horse Health™ Products, Vita Flex®, Just One Bite® and Rodentex™. These brands, along with sub-brands including Bronco®, Endure®, IverCare®, Horseshoer’s Secret®, Red Cell®, Sand Clear™, Super Mask® II and Vetrolin® position us as a leader in these categories. Moreover, we are a leading supplier of insect control products sold into various markets. We are the only domestic provider of (S)-Methoprene, which is an active ingredient used to control mosquitoes, flies, fleas, beetles and ants in many professional and consumer insect control applications. Our products are sold primarily under the Starbar® and Zoëcon® family of brands, as well as standalone brands such as Altosid®, Centynal™, ClariFly®IGR, Diacon®, Essentria® and Extinguish®. We also sell (S)-Methoprene to manufacturers of other insect control products, including Frontline Plus.
Aquatics and Reptile Supplies. We are a leading supplier of aquariums and terrariums as well as related fixtures and stands, water conditioners and supplements, water pumps and filters, sophisticated lighting systems and accessories featuring the brands Aqueon, Blagdon®, Coralife®, Interpet® and Zilla.
Live Fish and Small Animals. Segrest and SunPet are leading wholesalers of aquarium fish and plants, reptiles and small animals to pet specialty and mass merchandiser stores as well as public aquariums and research institutions.
Outdoor cushions. We sell Arden-branded outdoor cushions through major retailers, both in-store and online, and private label outdoor cushions through the largest big box stores in North America, all leveraging Arden's EverTru®-branded outdoor fabric. Our OceanTex™ fabrics, developed by EverTru, are responsibly made and composed of up to 100% recycled materials, including reclaimed ocean plastic and fishing nets.
Pet Sales and Distribution Network
Our domestic sales and distribution network exists to promote both our proprietary brands and third-party brands. It provides value-added service to over 9,800 retailers, many of which are independent specialty stores with fewer than 10 locations, and over 6,400 veterinary offices. This includes acquisition and maintenance of premium shelf placement, prompt product replenishment, customization of retailer programs, quick response to changing customer and retailer preferences, rapid deployment and feedback for new products and immediate exposure for acquired brands. The combination of brands in the network that are supplied in single shipments enables our independent customers to work with us on a cost-effective basis to meet their pet supplies requirements. We also operate a sales and logistics facility in the United Kingdom.
Pet Sales and Marketing
Our sales strategy is multi-tiered and designed to capture maximum market share with retailers. Our customers include retailers, such as club, regional and national specialty pet stores, independent pet retailers, food, drug and mass stores, as well as the eCommerce channel. We also serve the professional market with insect control and health and wellness products for use by veterinarians, municipalities, farmers and equine product suppliers. Costco Wholesale accounted for approximately 13% of our Pet segment's net sales in fiscal 2023, and 11% in fiscal 2022. Walmart, Petco, Amazon and Kroger are also significant customers.
To optimize our product placement and visibility in retail stores, our focused sales resources are segmented as follows:
•a sales organization operating by category and channel;
•dedicated account teams servicing our largest customers;
•a group of account managers focused on regional chains;
•a geographic based group of territory managers dedicated to the independent retailer; and
•a specialized group of account managers dedicated to the professional and equine markets.
These sales teams deliver our marketing strategy that is consumer, brand and channel driven. We provide value creation with a focus on innovation, product quality and performance, premium packaging, product positioning and consumer value. We collaborate closely with our customers to identify their needs, jointly develop strategies to meet those needs and deliver programs that include digital execution, print, broadcast and direct mail. We continue to invest in talent, innovation, brand building, digital capabilities and eCommerce as these play a critical role in our ambition to lead in the pet segment.
Over the last two years we have received a number of awards for marketing. For example, in fiscal 2022, Kaytee won two packaging design awards from Graphic Design USA for Kaytee NutriSoft and Field + Forest by Kaytee.
Pet Competition
The pet supplies industry is highly competitive and has experienced considerable consolidation. Our branded pet products compete against national and regional branded products and private label products produced by various suppliers. Our largest competitors in the product categories we participate in are Mars, Inc., Spectrum Brands and the J.M. Smucker Co. The Pet segment competes primarily on the basis of brand recognition, innovation, upscale packaging, quality and service. Our Pet segment’s sales and distribution network competes with Animal Supply Co., Phillips Pet Food & Supplies and a number of smaller local and regional distributors, with competition based on product selection, price, value-added services and personal relationships.
Garden Segment
Garden Overview
We are a leader in the consumer lawn and garden consumables market in the United States and offer both premium and value-oriented branded products. We also produce numerous private label brands. In addition, our Garden segment operates a manufacturing, sales and distribution network that strategically supports our brands with select national retailers.
Garden Industry Background
The garden industry includes consumables such as grass and other seeds, fertilizer, controls, live goods, wild bird products as well as soil and mulch, and durables such as landscaping and decorative products including pottery, outdoor furniture, water features, lighting, arches and trellises. The total lawn and garden consumables industry in the United States is estimated by Packaged Facts, the Freedonia Group, Numerator and internal estimates to be approximately $31 billion in annual retail sales in 2023, including grass and other seeds, fertilizer, controls, live goods, wild bird products as well as soil and mulch. We estimate the annual retail sales of the lawn and garden consumables market in the categories in which we participate to be approximately $30 billion.
The lawn and garden consumables market is highly concentrated with most products sold to consumers through a number of distribution channels, including home centers, mass merchants, independent nurseries and hardware stores. Home and garden centers and mass merchants typically carry multiple premium and value brands.
Long-Term Garden Industry Characteristics
Building off of trends that grew in prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic - including a surge in garden activity, increased use of outdoor spaces for entertainment, staycation and do-it-yourself lawn maintenance - the Freedonia Group expects the industry sales for 2023 to remain above 2019 pre-pandemic levels. Gardening and outdoor recreation continue to be popular among many consumers and lifestyle changes and shifts in demographics are creating new opportunities in gardening. Interest in outdoor living is particularly high among millennials, the nation's largest group of gardeners. Representing 29% of all gardeners, millennials are increasingly interested in gardening as a leisure pursuit. We believe this trend bodes well for live plants, pot and planters and garden consumables. According to the Freedonia Group, 55% of people who grow plants, refer to their plants as “babies” or have called themselves a “plant parent”. Gardeners who use this term are more likely to spend more money on their “plant babies” by investing in more attractive pots or planters, looking for unique plant varieties, or buying specialty tools or high-end consumables to care for them.
Branded Lawn and Garden Products
Our principal lawn and garden consumables product lines are grass seed, wild bird products, lawn and garden care products including fertilizers, insect control products, live plants and packet seed. Our Pennington brand is one of the largest in grass seed, wild bird feed and birding accessories. Ferry-Morse is a leader in vegetable, herb and flower packet seed, and our Amdro brand is a leading portfolio of control products.
We continuously seek to introduce new products, both as complementary extensions of existing product lines and in new product categories. In fiscal 2023, our Ferry-Morse brand introduced more than 40 different Plantlings™ Garden Starter Kits, curated bundles of Plantlings that complement each other and take the guesswork out of planning and buying. In fiscal 2022, we launched Pennington Smart Patch lawn products, ideal for patching bare lawn spots and thinning areas.
Grass Seed. We are a leading marketer, producer and distributor of numerous varieties and mixtures of cool and warm season grass seed for both the residential and professional markets, as well as forage and wildlife seed mixtures. We sell these products under the Pennington brand along with several sub-brands including Lawn Booster, One Step Complete®, Rackmaster®, Slopemaster®, Smart Seed, Smart Patch, The Rebels® and other brand names. We also produce numerous private label brands of grass seed. The Pennington grass seed manufacturing facilities are some of the largest and most modern seed coating and conditioning facilities in the industry.
Wild Bird. We are the leading producer, marketer and distributor of wild bird feed, bird feeders, bird houses and other birding accessories. These products are sold under the Pennington, 3-D® Pet Products and Wild Delight® brands. Many of our branded wild bird feed mixes are treated with a proprietary blend of vitamins and minerals. For example, our Pennington brand feed mixes are enriched with Bird-Kote®, our exclusive process which literally seals each seed with a nutritious coating containing vitamins and minerals that are beneficial to the health of wild birds.
Fertilizer and Controls. We are a leading producer, marketer and distributor of soil supplements and stimulants. We manufacture several lines of lawn and garden fertilizers and soil supplements in granular and liquid form under the Alaska® Fish Fertilizer, Ironite®, Pennington, Pro Care® and Superthrive® brand names and other private and controlled labels. We also produce, market and distribute lawn and garden weed, moss, insect and pest control products. We sell these products under brands such as Amdro, Corry’s®, Daconil®, IMAGE®, Knockout™, Lilly Miller®, Moss Out®, Over-N-Out®, Rootboost™ and Sevin, as well as other private and controlled labels.
Live Plants. With Bell Nursery and Hopewell Nursery, we are the primary supplier of superior quality flowers, trees, shrubs and other plants to Home Depot in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic regions, producing and shipping tens of millions of annuals and perennials each year, also offering items we do not grow, such as orchids and indoor plants.
Packet Seed. We are a leading provider of vegetable, herb and flower packet seeds and seed starters. We sell these products under the American Seed®, Ferry-Morse, Jiffy®, Livingston®, McKenzie® Seed and other brand names.
Garden Sales and Distribution Network
Our sales and distribution network exists primarily to promote our proprietary brands and provides us with key access to select national retail chains for our branded products, acquisition and maintenance of premium shelf placement, prompt product replenishment, customization of retailer programs, quick responses to changing customer and retailer preferences, rapid deployment and feedback for new products, market intelligence and potential acquisition targets. The network also sells other manufacturers’ brands of lawn and garden supplies and combines these products with our branded products into single shipments enabling select national retail chains to deal with us on a cost-effective basis to meet their lawn and garden supplies requirements.
Garden Sales and Marketing
The marketing strategy for our premium products is focused on meeting consumer needs through product performance, innovation, quality, upscale packaging and retail shelf placement. The marketing strategy for our value products is focused on promotion of the quality and efficacy of our value brands at a lower cost relative to premium brands. Our customers include retailers, such as home improvement centers, food, drug and mass merchants, and professional end users. Sales to Home Depot represented approximately 35% and 33%, sales to Walmart represented approximately 24% and 28% and sales to Lowe’s represented approximately 14% and 16% of our Garden segment’s net sales in fiscal 2023 and 2022, respectively.
To maximize our product placement and visibility in retail stores, we market our products through the following four complementary strategies:
•dedicated sales forces represent our combined brand groups;
•a retail sales and logistics network, which provides in-store training and merchandising for our customers, especially during the prime spring and summer seasons;
•dedicated account-managers and sales teams located near several of our largest customers; and
•selected independent distributors who sell our brands.
We continue to invest in talent, digital capabilities and eCommerce as these play a critical role in our ambition to lead in the Garden segment.
Garden Competition
The lawn and garden consumables industry is highly competitive. Our lawn and garden products compete against national, regional and private label products produced by various suppliers. Our turf and forage grass seed products, fertilizers, pesticides and combination products compete principally against products marketed by The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company. In addition, Spectrum Brands and S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc. are strong competitors in yard and household insecticides. Our Garden segment competes primarily based on its strong premium and value brands, quality, service, price and low-cost manufacturing.
Seasonality
While demand for our pet supplies products, except for pest controls, is generally balanced over the year, our lawn and garden consumables business is highly seasonal with approximately two-thirds of net sales occurring in our second and third fiscal quarters combined. We build inventory based on expected demand and typically fill customer orders within a few days of receipt, so the backlog of unfilled orders is not material. Funding for working capital items, including inventory and receivables, is normally sourced from operating cash flows and short-term borrowings under our revolving credit facility. For additional information on our liquidity, working capital management, cash flow and financing activities, see Liquidity and Capital Resources, and Note 11, Long-Term Debt, appearing later in this Form 10-K.
Sources and Availability of Raw Materials
We purchase most of our raw materials from multiple suppliers. We obtain one of the raw materials used to manufacture (S)-Methoprene from a single source of supply. We maintain an inventory of this raw material (in addition to our (S)-Methoprene inventory) to reduce the possibility of interruption in the availability of (S)-Methoprene, since a prolonged delay in obtaining (S)-Methoprene or this raw material could result in a temporary delay in product shipments and have an adverse effect on our Pet segment’s financial results.
The key ingredients in our fertilizer and insect and weed control products are commodity and specialty chemicals, including urea, potash, phosphates, herbicides, insecticides and fungicides.
The principal raw materials required for our bird feed are bulk commodity grains, including millet, milo and sunflower seeds, which are generally purchased from large national commodity companies and local grain cooperatives. In order to ensure an adequate supply of grains and seeds to satisfy expected production volume, we enter into contracts to purchase a portion of our expected grain and seed requirements at future dates by fixing the quantity, and often the price, at the commitment date. Although we have never experienced a severe interruption of supply, we are exposed to price risk with respect to the portion of our supply which is not covered by contracts with a fixed price.
Patents, Trademarks and Other Proprietary Rights
We hold numerous patents in the United States and in other countries and have several patent applications pending. We consider the development of patents through creative research and the maintenance of an active patent program to be advantageous to our business, but do not regard any particular patent as essential to our operations. In addition to patents, we have numerous active ingredient registrations, end-use product registrations and trade secrets. Along with patents, active ingredient registrations, end use product registrations and trade secrets, we own numerous trademarks, service marks, trade names and logotypes. Many of our trademarks are registered. For those that are not, we rely on our common law trademark rights.
Human Capital Management
We believe one of the reasons Central employees are part of our organization is because they are passionate about the pet and garden industries. Every Central Team member and every job is important to our success and helping us to achieve our purpose.
As of September 30, 2023, we had approximately 6,700 employees, of whom approximately 6,300 were full-time employees and 400 were temporary or part-time employees. We also hire substantial numbers of additional temporary employees for the peak lawn and garden shipping season of February through June to meet the increased demand during the spring and summer months. The majority of our temporary employees are paid on an hourly basis. Except for approximately 100 employees at our facilities in Puebla, Mexico and Brandon, Canada, none of our employees are represented by a labor union. The attrition rate of our non-seasonal full-time and part-time workforce was 39% in fiscal 2023.
We believe that attracting, developing and retaining a diverse and inclusive workforce is important to our continued success. Women serve in several senior leadership roles, holding 39% of leadership positions (defined as Managers, Directors and Senior leaders (Vice President and above), including Interim Chief Executive Officer, General Counsel and Secretary, Senior Vice President Supply Chain, Senior Vice President Pet Consumer Marketing, Vice President Digital Marketing & Commerce, Vice President Investor Relations & Corporate Sustainability, Vice President Real Estate, President & General Manager Segrest, General Manager Health & Wellness and Vice President Pet Sales.
We recognize that financial stability is a critical component to our employees’ well-being. Our competitive compensation programs include base salary or hourly compensation for all employees. In addition, we provide a discretionary annual 401k employer contribution and a bonus program for eligible employees, which is based on the success of our businesses as measured by designated performance metrics and individual performance contributions. Another component of our overall compensation program is long-term equity, which is offered through annual and individual grants. We use such long-term equity grants as a means of attracting and retaining key employees to reward performance and to give these employees a vested interest in the success of the Company. Moreover, our physical health programs, like our medical and dental coverage, help our employees to feel their best on the job and at home.
Developing our employees so that they can assume key roles within Central is an important strategic priority for us. We offer a variety of programs and resources to train and enhance the skill set of our workforce, including a mentoring program and subsidizing college and advanced degrees for eligible employees. We also engage in regular discussions around succession planning and talent development at all levels of the Company. Our Board has frequent contact with business leaders within the organization and participates actively in the succession planning process. Our Chief People Officer reports directly to the Interim Chief Executive Officer and works with management to evaluate internal talent for future leadership positions within the organization on an ongoing basis. In evaluating potential acquisitions, an important consideration is the quality of the management team of the target company and our ability to obtain sufficient assurance that such management will remain with Central as needed if and after we acquire the business.
We encourage and drive high standards in our occupational health and safety performance by recording, reporting and investigating all incidents to root cause. In the ongoing push for progress, we set new annual safety targets and invest in our operational capabilities. We have improved our recordable incident rate for four consecutive years and in fiscal 2023, we were able to improve it by 20% compared to fiscal 2022.
Regulatory Considerations
Many of the products that we manufacture or distribute are subject to local, state, federal and foreign laws and regulations. Such regulations are often complex and are subject to change. For example, in the United States, all pesticides must be registered with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”), in addition to individual state and/or foreign agency registrations before they can be sold. Fertilizer products are also subject to state Department of Agriculture registration and foreign labeling regulations. Grass and other seeds are also subject to state, federal and foreign labeling regulations.
The Food Quality Protection Act (“FQPA”) establishes a standard for food-use pesticides, which is a reasonable certainty that no harm will result from the cumulative effect of pesticide exposures. Under this Act, the EPA is evaluating the cumulative risks from dietary and non-dietary exposures to pesticides. The pesticides in our products, which are also used on foods, are evaluated by the EPA as part of this non-dietary exposure risk assessment.
In addition, the use of certain pesticide and fertilizer products is regulated by various local, state, federal and foreign environmental and public health agencies. These regulations may include requirements that only certified or professional users apply the product or that certain products be used only on certain types of locations (such as “not for use on sod farms or golf courses”), may require users to post notices on properties to which products have been or will be applied, may require notification of individuals in the vicinity that products will be applied in the future or may ban the use of certain ingredients.
Various federal, state and local laws, including the federal Food Safety Modernization Act (“FSMA”), also regulate pet food products and give regulatory authorities the power to recall or require re-labeling of products. Several new FSMA regulations became effective in recent years.
Various local, state, federal and foreign environmental laws also impose obligations on various entities to clean up contaminated properties or to pay for the cost of such remediation, often upon parties that did not actually cause the contamination. In the course of our extensive acquisition history, we have acquired a number of manufacturing and distribution facilities, and most of these facilities have not been subjected to Phase II environmental tests to determine whether they are contaminated.
Environmental, Social and Governance
The long-term profitability of our business requires us to do our part to protect the planet, care for the local areas we serve, and provide our Central employees a safe, healthy and rewarding workplace. Corporate sustainability is embedded throughout our long-term enterprise roadmap and brought to life through our Central Impact strategy. We demonstrated our commitment to corporate sustainability by publishing our first Central Impact report in fiscal 2022. This inaugural report provides detailed information on our Central Impact strategy, our focus areas - protecting our planet, cultivating our communities and empowering our employees, and we have set goals in 10 critical areas - energy & greenhouse gases, water, waste, biodiversity, philanthropy, employee volunteering, product stewardship, health & safety, diversity & inclusion, learning & development - and our progress and examples of our commitment in action. The report can be found on our website www.central.com.
In fiscal 2023, Central was recognized for its efforts in promoting eco-conscious procurement practices by ODP Business Solutions.
Information About Our Executive Officers
The following table sets forth the name, age and position of our executive officers as of November 20, 2023.
Name 1 Age Position
William E. Brown 82 Chairman of the Board
Mary Beth Springer 58 Interim Chief Executive Officer
John E. Hanson 58 President, Pet Consumer Products
Nicholas Lahanas 55 Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer
J.D. Walker 65 President, Garden Consumer Products
Joyce McCarthy 54 General Counsel & Secretary
William E. Brown. Mr. Brown has been our Chairman since October 2019, having also served in this capacity from 1980 to 2018. From 1980 to June 2003 and from October 2007 to February 2013, he served as our Chief Executive Officer. From 1977 to 1980, Mr. Brown was Senior Vice President of Vivitar Corporation with responsibility for Finance, Operations and Research & Development. From 1972 to 1977, he was with McKesson Corporation where he was responsible for its 200-site data processing organization. Prior to joining McKesson Corporation, Mr. Brown spent the first 10 years of his business career at McCormick, Inc. in manufacturing, engineering and data processing.
Mary Beth Springer. Ms. Springer became our Interim Chief Executive Officer in October 2020. She has served on our Board of Directors for the past 10 years and acted as the Lead Independent Director for the last three years. Ms. Springer currently also serves as an
independent director for Amy’s Kitchen, a privately held organic food company. She spent over 20 years at The Clorox Company in roles of increasing responsibility, finalizing her time with Clorox as Executive Vice President and General Manager.
John E. Hanson. Mr. Hanson became our President of Pet Consumer Products in August 2019 after serving as a board member during portions of 2018 and 2019. From 2015 to 2017, he served as Chief Executive Officer of Oasis Brands, Inc. Beginning in 2013, Mr. Hanson consulted for consumer products companies in the areas of strategy, operations and mergers and acquisitions. Prior to that, he had over 16 years of experience at ConAgra, where he served in a variety of senior-level roles including President of its Frozen Foods Division from 2008 to 2012 and Senior Vice President in Sales from 2006 to 2008.
Nicholas "Niko" Lahanas. Mr. Lahanas became our Chief Financial Officer in May 2017. He served as Senior Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer of our Pet segment from April 2014 to May 2017 and Vice President of Corporate Financial Planning & Analysis from October 2011 to March 2014. Mr. Lahanas was the Director of Business Performance from March 2008 to October 2011, where his primary focus was on business unit profitability, and was a Finance Manager from October 2006 to March 2008 in our Garden segment. Prior to joining Central, he worked in private equity and investment banking.
J.D. Walker. Mr. Walker became our President of Garden Consumer Products in 2017 and has responsibility for Central's branded garden business including sales, marketing operations, the controls and fertilizer, grass seed and vendor partner business units, as well as the retail sales & service team. He served as Executive Vice President and General Manager - Garden Branded Business from 2014 to 2017 and began with Central as Senior Vice President - Garden Sales in 2011. Prior to joining Central, Mr. Walker held increasingly senior positions for 13 years with Spectrum Brands and for 17 years with The Gillette Company's Duracell North American Group.
Joyce McCarthy. Ms. McCarthy became our General Counsel & Secretary in April 2022. From 2018-2022, she served as General Counsel & Secretary for Ferrara Candy Company where she oversaw all legal and compliance matters for the company. From 2002 to 2018, Ms. McCarthy held several key legal roles at Colgate-Palmolive Company, including four years as General Counsel of Hill’s Pet Nutrition, Inc., Colgate’s global pet food division. Prior to joining Colgate, Ms. McCarthy was an associate at Davis Polk & Wardwell and served as a law clerk to a U.S. District Court judge in the Southern District of New York.
Available Information
Our web site is www.central.com. We make available free of charge, on or through our website, our annual, quarterly and current reports, and any amendments to those reports, as soon as reasonably practicable after electronically filing or furnishing such reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Information contained on our web site is not part of this report.

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ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
Item 1A. Risk Factors.
This Form 10-K contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of factors both in and out of our control, including the risks faced by us described below and elsewhere in this Form 10-K.
You should carefully consider the risks described below. In addition, the risks described below are not the only ones facing us. We have only described the risks we consider to be material. However, there may be additional risks that are viewed by us as not material at the present time or are not presently known to us. Conditions could change in the future, or new information may come to our attention that could impact our assessment of these risks.
If any of the events described below were to occur, our business, prospects, financial condition and/or results of operations could be materially adversely affected. When we say below that something could or will have a material adverse effect on us, we mean that it could or will have one or more of these effects. In any such case, the price of our common stock could decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment in our company.
Risks Affecting our Business
Inflation, high interest rates, economic uncertainty and other adverse macro-economic conditions may harm our business.
Our revenues and margins are dependent on various economic factors, including rates of inflation, interest rates, the potential of an economic recession, energy costs, consumer attitudes toward discretionary spending, currency fluctuations, and other macro-economic factors which may impact consumer spending. Beginning in fiscal 2021, we have experienced high levels of inflation resulting in significant cost increases in many parts of our business, including input costs, labor costs, and fuel costs. While the rate of inflation has slowed during fiscal 2023, if the inflationary environment continues during fiscal 2024, we may be unable to pass through higher input costs by raising the price of our products, consumer confidence and purchasing may weaken and we may experience organic sales declines and gross margin and operating income declines.
High energy prices could adversely affect our operating results.
Beginning in 2021, energy prices increased substantially and have remained elevated, resulting in increased costs for fuel and raw materials for many of our products. Energy prices may continue to rise or remain elevated during fiscal 2024. Continued high energy prices could adversely affect consumer spending and demand for our products and increase our operating costs, both of which would reduce our sales and operating income.
A decline in consumers’ discretionary spending or a change in consumer preferences during economic downturns could reduce our sales and harm our business.
Our sales ultimately depend on consumer discretionary spending, which is influenced by factors beyond our control, including the current inflationary environment, high interest rates, the potential for an economic recession, other general economic conditions, the availability of discretionary income and credit, weather, consumer confidence and unemployment levels. Any material decline in consumer discretionary spending during the economic downturn could reduce our sales and harm our business. Unfavorable economic and market conditions may also place a number of our key retail customers under financial stress, which would increase our credit risk and potential bad debt exposure.
The success of our business also depends in part on our ability to identify and respond to evolving trends in demographics and consumer preferences. Our failure to timely identify or effectively respond to changing consumer tastes, preferences, spending patterns and lawn and garden and pet care needs could adversely affect the demand for our products and our profitability.
Our operating results and cash flow are susceptible to fluctuations.
We expect to continue to experience variability in our net sales, net income and cash flow on a quarterly basis. Factors that may contribute to this variability include:
•high inflation and the ability to take pricing actions to mitigate high input costs, including for commodities;
•the uncertain macro-economic environment, including high interest rates and a potential recession, and the impact either could have on consumer discretionary spending;
•seasonality and the impact of adverse weather conditions;
•fluctuations in prices of commodity grains and other input costs;
•supply chain and sourcing disruptions, including the volatile geopolitical environment;
•shifts in demand for lawn and garden and pet products;
•changes in product mix, service levels, marketing and pricing by us and our competitors;
•the effect of acquisitions; and
•the strength of our relationships with key retailers and their buying patterns and economic stability.
These fluctuations could negatively impact our business and the market price of our common stock.
We are in the process of implementing our Central to Home strategy, which could result in increased expenses over the next few years.
Our Central to Home strategy consists of a comprehensive series of organizational and operational initiatives intended to build and grow our consumer brands, create a leading eCommerce platform and strengthen our relationships with key customers, drive a strong portfolio strategy, reduce costs to improve margins and fuel growth and strengthen our entrepreneurial, business unit-led growth culture. We expect to continue to implement these initiatives over the next several years. We anticipate continuing to incur substantial costs relating to this strategy in each of the next several years. There can be no assurance that we will be able to successfully execute our Central to Home strategic initiatives or that we will be able to do so within the anticipated time period. During the process of implementation, we will be making substantial investments in our business and will incur substantial transitional costs. These investments and transitional costs may adversely affect our operating results.
Seeds and grains we use to produce bird feed and grass seed are commodity products subject to price volatility that could have a negative impact on us.
Our financial results are partially dependent upon the cost of raw materials and our ability to pass along increases in these costs to our customers. In particular, our Pennington and Kaytee businesses are exposed to fluctuations in market prices for commodity seeds and grains used to produce bird feed. Historically, market prices for commodity seeds and grains have fluctuated in response to a number of factors, including changes in U.S. government farm support programs, changes in international agricultural and trading policies and weather conditions during the growing and harvesting seasons.
To mitigate our exposure to changes in market prices, we enter into purchase contracts for grains, bird feed and grass seed to cover a limited portion of our purchase requirements for a selling season. Since these contracts cover only a portion of our purchase requirements, as market prices for such products increase, our cost of production increases as well. In contrast, if market prices for such products decrease, we may end up purchasing grains and seeds pursuant to the purchase contracts at prices above market.
Fiscal 2022 and 2023 brought historic levels of inflation and reduced supply of certain grains due to the war in Ukraine, which drove up costs for bird feed and grass seed. In both fiscal 2022 and fiscal 2023, we experienced increasing inflationary costs in key commodities (e.g., sunflower, milo and millet). Although we were able to negotiate further price increases in fiscal 2022 and in fiscal 2023 with our retailers, it is possible that price increases may not fully offset continued high costs in the future, resulting in margin erosion. We can provide no assurance as to the timing or extent of our ability to implement additional price adjustments in the event of continued high costs in the future, or our ability to maintain pricing with our retailers in the context of declining costs. We also cannot predict to what extent price increases may negatively affect our sales volume. As retailers pass along price increases, consumers may shift to our lower margin bird feed, switch to competing products or reduce purchases of wild bird feed products. The same shift in consumer behavior could adversely affect our business in other product categories which experience substantial price increases.
We are subject to significant risks associated with innovation, including the risk that our new product innovations will not produce sufficient sales to recoup our investment.
We believe that our future success will depend upon, in part, our ability to continue to improve our existing products through product innovation and to develop, market and produce new products. We cannot assure you that we will be successful in the introduction, marketing and production of any new products or product innovations, or that we will develop and introduce in a timely manner, improvements to our existing products which satisfy customer needs or achieve market acceptance. Our failure to develop new products or improved formulations and introduce them successfully and in a timely manner could harm our ability to grow our business and could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
We believe that the period of time to gain consumer acceptance of major innovations is longer in the garden industry than in many industries, which compounds the risks generally associated with major new product innovations.
Supply disruptions in pet birds, small animals and fish may negatively impact our sales.
The federal government and many state governments have increased restrictions on the importation of pet birds and the supply of small animals. These restrictions have resulted in reduced availability of new pet birds and small animals and thus reduced demand for pet bird and small animal food and supplies. If these restrictions become more severe, or similar restrictions become applicable to pet fish, our future sales of these products would likely suffer, which would negatively impact our profitability. In addition, some countries have experienced outbreaks of avian flu. A significant outbreak in the United States would reduce demand for our pet and wild bird food and negatively impact our financial results.
Our Segrest subsidiary is the largest supplier of aquarium fish in the United States and also supplies pet birds and small animals. The sale of fish, pet birds and small animals subjects us to additional risk, including risks associated with sourcing, developing captive breeding programs, health of the fish, pet birds and small animals supplied by us and future governmental regulation of the sale of fish, pet birds and small animals.
Our lawn and garden sales are highly seasonal and subject to adverse weather.
Because our lawn and garden products are used primarily in the spring and summer, the Garden business is seasonal. In fiscal 2023, approximately 67% of our Garden segment’s net sales and 58% of our total net sales occurred during our second and third fiscal quarters. Substantially all of the Garden segment’s operating income is generated in this period. Our working capital needs and our borrowings generally peak in our second fiscal quarter because we are generating lower revenues while incurring expenses in preparation for the spring selling season. If cash on hand and borrowings under our credit facility are ever insufficient to meet our seasonal needs or if cash flow generated during the spring and summer is insufficient to repay our borrowings on a timely basis, this seasonality could have a material adverse effect on our business.
Because demand for lawn and garden products is significantly influenced by weather, particularly weekend weather during the peak gardening season, our results of operations and cash flow could also be adversely affected by certain weather patterns such as unseasonably cool or warm temperatures, heavy rains, water shortages or floods. During fiscal 2022 and fiscal 2023, we experienced unfavorable weather during the peak garden season, which adversely impacted our Garden sales. Unfavorable weather in the future could have a significant adverse effect on the sales and profitability of our lawn and garden business.
We depend on a few customers for a significant portion of our business.
Walmart, our largest customer, represented approximately 16% of our total company net sales in fiscal 2023, 17% in fiscal 2022 and 16% in fiscal 2021. Home Depot, our second largest customer, represented approximately 16%, 16% and 15% of our total company net sales in fiscal 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively. Lowe's, our third largest customer, represented approximately 8%, 8% and 9% of our total company net sales in fiscal 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively. Costco and Amazon are also significant customers, and together with Walmart, Home Depot and Lowe's accounted for approximately 52% of our net sales in fiscal 2023. The market shares of many of these key retailers have increased and may continue to increase in future years.
The loss of, or significant adverse change in, our relationship with any of these key retailers could cause our net sales, operating income and cash flow to decline. The loss of, or reduction in, orders from any significant customer, losses arising from customer disputes regarding shipments, fees, merchandise condition or related matters, or our inability to collect accounts receivable from any major customer could reduce our operating income and cash flow.
Tariffs or a global trade war could increase the cost of our products, which could adversely impact the competitiveness of our products and our financial results.
During the former presidential administration, the United States imposed a series of tariffs, ranging from 5% to 25%, on a variety of imports from China and subsequently implemented tariffs on additional goods imported from China. Less than 10% of the products that we sell are manufactured in China. To the extent the United States continues the China tariffs, or if additional tariffs or trade restrictions are implemented by the United States or other countries in connection with a global trade war, the cost of our products manufactured in China, or other countries, and imported into the United States could increase, which in turn could adversely affect the demand for these products and have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
We may be adversely affected by trends in the retail industry.
Our retailer customers have continued to consolidate, resulting in fewer customers on which we depend for business. These key retailers are increasingly large and sophisticated with increased buying power and negotiating strength. They are more capable of resisting price increases and can demand lower pricing. Our business may be negatively affected by changes in the policies of our key retailers, such as limitations on access to shelf space, price demands and other conditions. In addition, large retailers have the scale to develop supply chains that permit them to operate with reduced inventories. Consequently, our customers have been implementing inventory destocking and making purchases on a “just-in-time” basis. This requires us to shorten our lead time for production in certain cases and to more closely anticipate demand, which could in the future require the carrying of additional inventories and an increase in our working capital and related financing requirements. This shift to “just-in-time” can also cause retailers to delay purchase orders, which can cause a shift in sales from
quarter to quarter. Decisions to move in or out of a market category by leading retailers can also have a significant impact on our business. Additionally, some retailers are increasing their emphasis on private label products. These retailers may also in the future use more of their shelf space, currently used for our products, for their store brand products. While we view private label as an opportunity and supply many private label products to retailers, we could lose sales in the event that key retailers replace our branded products with private label product manufactured by others.
We sell our products through a variety of trade channels with a significant portion dependent upon key retailers, through both traditional brick-and-mortar retail channels and eCommerce channels, including Amazon. The eCommerce channel continues to grow rapidly. To the extent that the key retailers on which we depend lose share to the eCommerce channel, we could lose sales. We continue to make additional investments to access this channel more effectively, but there can be no assurances that any such investments will be successful. If we are not successful in developing and utilizing eCommerce channels that consumers may prefer, we may experience lower than expected revenues.
A significant deterioration in the financial condition of one of our major customers could have a material adverse effect on our sales, profitability and cash flow. We continually monitor and evaluate the credit status of our customers and attempt to adjust sales terms as appropriate. Despite these efforts, a bankruptcy filing or liquidation by a key customer could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition in the future.
If we underestimate or overestimate demand for our products and do not maintain appropriate inventory levels, our results of operations and financial condition could be negatively impacted.
Our ability to manage our inventory levels to meet our customers’ demand for our products is important for our business. Our production levels and inventory management goals for our products are based on estimates of demand, taking into account production capacity, timing of shipments, and inventory levels. While we increased our inventory levels significantly during fiscal 2022 to mitigate the adverse impact of supply chain disruptions on our fill rates, we were able to decrease inventory levels during fiscal 2023. If we overestimate or underestimate demand for any of our products during a given season, we may not maintain appropriate inventory levels, which could negatively impact our net sales, profit margins, net earnings, and/or working capital, hinder our ability to meet customer demand, result in loss of customers, or cause us to incur excess and obsolete inventory charges.
Issues with products may lead to product liability, personal injury or property damage claims, recalls, withdrawals, replacements of products, regulatory actions by governmental authorities that could divert resources, affect business operations, decrease sales, increase costs, and put us at a competitive disadvantage, any of which could have a significant adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.
We have experienced, and may in the future experience, issues with products that may lead to product liability, recalls, withdrawals, replacements of products, or regulatory actions by governmental authorities. Product recalls or other governmental regulatory action directed at product sales could result in increased governmental scrutiny, reputational harm, reduced demand by consumers for our products, decreased willingness by retailer customers to purchase or provide marketing support for those products, unavailability or increased cost of insurance, or additional safety and testing requirements. Such results could divert development and management resources, adversely affect our business operations, decrease sales, increase legal fees and other costs, and put us at a competitive disadvantage compared to other manufacturers not affected by similar issues with products, any of which could have a significant adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.
Competition in our industries may hinder our ability to execute our business strategy, increase our profitability or maintain relationships with existing customers.
We operate in highly competitive industries, which have experienced increased consolidation in recent years. We compete against numerous other companies, some of which are more established in their industries and have substantially greater revenue and resources than we do. Our products compete against national and regional products and private label products produced by various suppliers. Our largest competitors in the Pet segment are Spectrum Brands, Mars, Inc. and the J.M Smucker Co., and our largest competitors in the Garden segment are Scotts Miracle-Gro, Spectrum Brands and S.C. Johnson.
To compete effectively, among other things, we must:
•develop and grow brands with leading market positions;
•maintain or grow market share;
•maintain and expand our relationships with key retailers;
•effectively access the growing eCommerce channel;
•continually develop innovative new products that appeal to consumers;
•implement effective marketing and sales promotion programs;
•maintain strict quality standards;
•deliver products on a reliable basis at competitive prices; and
•effectively integrate acquired businesses.
Our inability to compete effectively could lead to lower sales volumes, price reductions, reduced profits, losses, or loss of market share which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
We continue to implement enterprise resource planning information technology systems.
We are incurring costs associated with designing and implementing enterprise resource planning (ERP) software systems with the objective of gradually migrating our businesses to one or the other of two systems. The choice of which is to be used for each business is dependent on the needs of the business unit. These two systems are replacing numerous accounting and financial reporting systems, most of which have been obtained in connection with business acquisitions. To date, we have reduced the number of ERP systems from 43 to 9. Capital expenditures for our enterprise resource planning software systems for fiscal 2024 and beyond will depend upon the pace of conversion for those remaining legacy systems. If the balance of the implementation is not executed successfully, we could experience business interruptions or material weaknesses relating to IT controls of acquired companies. For example, we recently identified two material weaknesses related to our Live Plants and Green Garden businesses whose IT systems have not been fully integrated into our corporate IT control structure. If we do not complete the implementation of the project timely and successfully, we may experience, among other things, additional costs associated with completing this project and a delay in our ability to improve existing operations, support future growth and take advantage of new applications and technologies. All of this may also result in distraction of management, diverting their attention from our operations and strategy.
Some of the products that we manufacture and distribute require governmental permits and also subject us to potential environmental liabilities.
Some of the products that we manufacture and distribute are subject to regulation by federal, state, foreign and local authorities. Environmental health and safety laws and regulations are often complex and are subject to change. Environmental health and safety laws and regulations may affect us by restricting the manufacture, sale or use of our products or regulating their disposal. Regulatory or legislative changes may cause future increases in our operating costs or otherwise affect operations. There is no assurance that in the future we may not be adversely affected by such laws or regulations, incur increased operating costs in complying with such regulations or not be subject to claims for personal injury, property damages or governmental enforcement. In addition, due to the nature of our operations and the frequently changing nature of environmental compliance standards and technology, we cannot predict with any certainty that future material capital expenditures will not be required.
In addition to operational standards, environmental laws also impose obligations on various entities to clean up contaminated properties or to pay for the cost of such remediation, often upon parties that did not actually cause the contamination. Accordingly, we may become liable, either contractually or by operation of law, for remediation costs even if the contaminated property is not presently owned or operated by us, or if the contamination was caused by third parties during or prior to our ownership or operation of the property. With our extensive acquisition history, we have acquired a number of manufacturing and distribution facilities, and most of these facilities have not been subjected to Phase II environmental tests to determine whether they are contaminated. Given the nature of the past operations conducted by us and others at these properties, there can be no assurance that all potential instances of soil or groundwater contamination have been identified, even for those properties where an environmental site assessment has been conducted. Future events, such as changes in existing laws or policies or their enforcement, or the discovery of currently unknown contamination, may give rise to future remediation liabilities that may be material.
Our business is dependent upon our ability to continue to source products from China.
We outsource a portion of our manufacturing requirements to third-party manufacturers located in China. This subjects us to a number of risks, including: the impact of Chinese public health and contamination risks on manufacturing; quality control issues; social and political disturbances and instability; export duties, import controls, tariffs, quotas and other trade barriers; shipping and transportation problems; and fluctuations in currency values. These risks may be heightened by changes in the U.S. government's trade policies, including the continuation of tariffs on goods imported from China or the imposition of any new tariffs. Because we rely on Chinese third-party manufacturers for a significant portion of our product needs, any disruption in our relationships with these manufacturers could adversely affect our operations.
Deterioration in operating results could prevent us from fulfilling our obligations under the terms of our indebtedness or impact our ability to refinance our debt on favorable terms as it matures.
We have, and we will continue to have, significant indebtedness. As of September 30, 2023, we had total indebtedness of approximately $1.2 billion. This level of indebtedness and our future borrowing needs could have material adverse consequences for our business, including:
•make it more difficult for us to satisfy our obligations with respect to the terms of our indebtedness;
•require us to dedicate a large portion of our cash flow to pay principal and interest on our indebtedness, which would reduce the availability of our cash flow to fund working capital, capital expenditures, acquisitions and other business activities;
•increase our vulnerability to adverse industry conditions, including unfavorable weather conditions or commodity price increases;
•limit our flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, changes in our business and the industries in which we operate;
•restrict us from making strategic acquisitions or exploiting business opportunities;
•place us at a competitive disadvantage compared to competitors that have less debt; and
•limit our ability to borrow additional funds at reasonable rates, if at all.
In addition, since our credit facility bears interest at variable rates, a further increase in interest rates or interest rate margins as defined under our credit agreement will create higher debt service requirements, which would adversely affect our cash flow.
Risks Relating to Acquisitions
Our acquisition strategy involves a number of risks.
We are regularly engaged in acquisition discussions with other companies and anticipate that one or more potential acquisition opportunities, including those that would be material or could involve businesses with operating characteristics that differ from our existing business operations, may become available in the near future. If and when appropriate acquisition opportunities become available, we intend to actively pursue them. Acquisitions involve a number of special risks, including:
•failure of the acquired business to achieve expected results, as well as the potential impairment of the acquired assets if operating results decline after acquisition;
•diversion of management’s attention;
•additional financing, if necessary and available, which could increase leverage and costs, dilute equity, or both;
•the potential negative effect on our financial statements from the increase in goodwill and other intangibles;
•difficulties in integrating the operations, systems, technologies, products and personnel of acquired companies;
•initial dependence on unfamiliar supply chains or relatively small supply partners;
•the potential loss of key employees, customers, distributors, vendors and other business partners of the companies we acquire after the acquisition;
•the high cost and expenses of identifying, negotiating and completing acquisitions; and
•risks associated with unanticipated events or liabilities.
These risks could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
We have faced, and expect to continue to face, intense competition for acquisition candidates, which may limit our ability to make acquisitions and may lead to higher acquisition prices. We cannot assure you that we will be able to identify, acquire or manage profitably additional businesses or to integrate successfully any acquired businesses into our existing business without substantial costs, delays or other operational or financial difficulties. In future acquisitions, we also could incur additional indebtedness or pay consideration in excess of fair value, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
If our goodwill, indefinite-lived intangible assets or other long-term assets become impaired, we will be required to record impairment charges, which may be significant.
A significant portion of our long-term assets consists of goodwill and other intangible assets recorded as a result of past acquisitions. We do not amortize goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets, but rather review them for impairment on a periodic basis or whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that their carrying value may not be recoverable. We consider whether circumstances or conditions exist which suggest that the carrying value of our goodwill and other long-lived intangible assets might be impaired. If such
circumstances or conditions exist, further steps are required to determine whether the carrying value of each of the individual assets exceeds its fair value. If analysis indicates that an individual asset’s carrying value does exceed its fair value, we would record a loss equal to the excess of the individual asset’s carrying value over its fair value.
The steps required by Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (“GAAP”) entail significant amounts of judgment and subjectivity. Events and changes in circumstances that may indicate that there may be an impairment and that interim impairment testing is necessary include, but are not limited to: competitive conditions; the impact of the economic environment on our customer base and on broad market conditions that drive valuation considerations by market participants; our internal expectations with regard to future revenue growth and the assumptions we make when performing impairment reviews; a significant decrease in the market value of our assets; a significant adverse change in the extent or manner in which our assets are used; a significant adverse change in the business climate that could affect our assets; and significant changes in the cash flows associated with an asset. As a result of such circumstances, we may be required to record a significant charge to earnings in our financial statements during the period in which any impairment of our goodwill, indefinite-lived intangible assets or other long-term assets is determined. Any such impairment charges could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.
During fiscal 2023, 2022 and 2021, we performed evaluations of the fair value of our indefinite-lived trade names and trademarks. Our expected revenues were based on our future operating plan and estimates of market growth or decline for future years. In fiscal 2023, we recorded impairment charges of approximately $7.5 million and $3.9 million in our Pet and Garden segments. There were no impairment losses recorded in fiscal years 2021 and 2022.
As part of our annual goodwill impairment testing, in fiscal 2023, we elected to bypass the qualitative assessment and proceeded directly to performing the quantitative goodwill impairment test as part of annual goodwill impairment test. We completed our quantitative assessment and concluded there was no impairment of goodwill. In connection with our annual goodwill impairment testing performed during fiscal years 2022 and 2021, we made a qualitative evaluation about the likelihood of goodwill impairment to determine whether it was necessary to calculate the fair values of our reporting units under the quantitative goodwill impairment test. We completed our qualitative assessment of potential goodwill impairment and it was determined that it was more likely than not the fair values of our reporting units were greater than their carrying amounts, and accordingly, no quantitative testing of goodwill was required.
We have identified material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting and may identify additional material weaknesses in the future or otherwise fail to maintain an effective system of internal controls, which may result in material misstatements or otherwise adversely affect the accuracy, reliability or timeliness of our financial statements.
As described under Item 9A. "Controls and Procedures" below, we have concluded that material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting existed as of September 30, 2023 and, accordingly, our internal control over financial reporting and our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective as of such date. A material weakness is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of our annual or interim consolidated financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. As a result of its evaluation, management identified two material weaknesses: (1) in information technology general computer controls ("ITGCs") relating to access and program change management controls and (2) controls relating to an outsourced service provider at two acquired businesses whose IT systems had not yet been fully integrated with our corporate IT control structure.
Management is in the process of establishing a remediation plan and expects its remediation efforts will involve implementing additional controls to ensure that access and program change management controls are designed and operating effectively and that we have effective controls relating to outsourced service providers and the data they provide. Until the remediation plan is implemented, tested and deemed effective, we cannot provide assurance that our actions will adequately remediate the material weaknesses or that additional material weaknesses in our internal controls will not be identified in the future. Effective internal control over financial reporting is necessary for us to provide reliable and timely financial reports and, together with adequate disclosure controls and procedures, are designed to reasonably detect and prevent fraud. The occurrence of, or failure to remediate, these material weaknesses and any future material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting may adversely affect the accuracy and reliability and timeliness of our financial statements and have other consequences that could materially and adversely affect our business.
General Risks
Our success depends upon our retaining and recruiting key personnel.
Our performance is substantially dependent upon the continued services of our senior management team. The loss of the services of these persons, including the recent departure of our former Chief Executive Officer in October 2023, could have a material adverse effect on our business. Our future performance depends on our ability to attract and retain a new Chief Executive Officer and other skilled employees in all facets of our business, including management and manufacturing and distribution. We cannot assure you that we will be able to retain our existing personnel or attract additional qualified employees in the future.
Our inability to protect our trademarks and any other proprietary rights may have a significant, negative impact on our business.
We consider our trademarks to be of significant importance in our business. Although we devote resources to the prosecution, protection and enforcement of our trademarks, we cannot assure you that the actions we have taken or will take in the future will be adequate to prevent infringement of our trademarks and proprietary rights by others or prevent others from seeking to block sales of our products as an alleged infringement of their trademarks and proprietary rights. There can be no assurance that future litigation will not be necessary to enforce our trademarks or proprietary rights or to defend ourselves against claimed infringement of the rights of others. Any future litigation of this type could result in adverse determinations that could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations. Our inability to use our trademarks and other proprietary rights could also harm our business and sales through reduced demand for our products and reduced revenues.
The products that we manufacture and distribute could expose us to product liability claims.
Our business exposes us to potential product liability risks in the manufacture and distribution of certain of our products. Although we generally seek to insure against such risks, there can be no assurance that coverage will be adequate or that we will be able to maintain such insurance on acceptable terms. A successful product liability claim in excess of our insurance coverage could have a material adverse effect on us and could prevent us from obtaining adequate product liability insurance in the future on commercially reasonable terms.
We have unresolved litigation which could adversely impact our operating results.
We are a party to litigation alleging that the applicator developed and used by us for certain of our branded topical flea and tick products infringes a patent held by Nite Glow Industries, Inc. and asserting claims for breach of contract and misappropriation of confidential information. On June 27, 2018, a jury returned a verdict in favor of Nite Glow on each of the three claims and awarded damages of approximately $12.6 million, which was reduced to $12.4 million. We filed our notice of appeal and the plaintiffs cross-appealed. On July 14, 2021, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals concluded that the Company did not infringe plaintiff's patent and determined that the breach of contract claim raised no non-duplicative damages and should be dismissed. The court affirmed the jury's liability verdict on the misappropriation of confidential information claim but ordered a new trial on damages on that single claim limited to the "head start" benefit, if any, generated by the confidential information. We intend to vigorously pursue our defenses in the future proceedings and believe that we will prevail on the merits as to the head start damages issue. While we believe that the ultimate resolution of this matter will not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements, the outcome of litigation is inherently uncertain and the final resolution of this matter may result in expense to us in excess of management's expectations.
A significant information security or operational technology incident, including a cyber attack or data breach, could disrupt our operations and adversely impact our operating results, cash flows and reputation.
We rely extensively on information technology (IT) systems, networks and services, including internet and intranet sites, data hosting and processing facilities and technologies, physical security systems and other hardware, software and technical applications and platforms, many of which are managed, hosted, provided and/or used by third parties or their vendors, to assist in conducting our business.
Numerous and evolving information security threats, including advanced persistent cybersecurity threats, pose a risk to the security of our services, systems, networks and supply chain, as well as to the confidentiality, availability and integrity of our data and of our critical business operations. In addition, because the techniques, tools and tactics used in cyber-attacks frequently change and may be difficult to detect for periods of time, we may face difficulties in anticipating and implementing adequate preventative measures or fully mitigating harms after such an attack.
Our and our third-party providers’ IT systems have been, and will likely continue to be, subject to advanced computer viruses or other malicious codes, ransomware, unauthorized access attempts, denial of service attacks, phishing, social engineering, hacking and other cyberattacks. We cannot guarantee that our security efforts or the security efforts of our third-party providers will prevent material breaches, operational incidents or other breakdowns to our or our third-party providers’ IT systems.
A breach of our data security systems or failure of our IT systems may have a material adverse impact on our business operations and financial results. If the IT systems, networks or service providers we rely upon fail to function properly or cause operational outages or aberrations, or if we or one of our third-party providers suffer significant unavailability of key operations, or inadvertent disclosure of, lack of integrity of, or loss of our sensitive business or stakeholder information, including personally identifiable information, and our business continuity plans do not effectively address these failures on a timely basis, we may suffer interruptions in our ability to manage operations and be exposed to reputational, competitive, operational, financial and business harm as well as litigation and regulatory action. If our critical IT systems or back-up systems or those of our third-party vendors are damaged or cease to function properly, we may have to make a significant investment to repair or replace them. These risks can be magnified in companies that we have acquired until we fully integrate their critical IT systems into our internal controls.
In addition, if a ransomware attack or other cybersecurity incident occurs, either internally or at our third-party technology service providers, we could be prevented from accessing our data or systems, which may cause interruptions or delays in our business operations, cause us to incur remediation costs, subject us to demands to pay a ransom or damage our reputation. In addition, such events could result in unauthorized disclosure of confidential information or stakeholder information, including personally identifiable information, and we may suffer financial and reputational damage because of lost or misappropriated information belonging to us or to our partners, our employees, customers and suppliers. Additionally, we could be exposed to potential liability, litigation, governmental inquiries, investigations or regulatory enforcement actions; and we could be subject to payment of fines or other penalties, legal claims by our suppliers, customers or employees and significant remediation costs.
The costs and operational consequences of responding to the above items and implementing remediation measures could be significant and could adversely impact our results of operations and cash flows.
Risks Relating to our Capital Stock
We do not expect to pay dividends in the foreseeable future.
We have never paid any cash dividends on our common stock or Class A common stock and currently do not intend to do so. Provisions of our credit facility and the indenture governing our senior subordinated notes restrict our ability to pay cash dividends. Any future determination to pay cash dividends will be at the discretion of our Board of Directors, subject to limitations under applicable law and contractual restrictions, and will depend upon our results of operations, financial condition and other factors deemed relevant by our Board of Directors.
We may issue additional shares of our common stock or Class A common stock that could dilute the value and market price of our stock.
We may decide or be required to issue, including upon the exercise of any outstanding stock options, or in connection with any acquisition made by us, additional shares of our common stock or Class A common stock that could dilute the value of our common stock or Class A common stock and may adversely affect the market price of our common stock or Class A common stock.
Our Chairman and founder, through his holdings of our Class B common stock, exercises effective control of the Company, which may discourage potential acquisitions of our business and could have an adverse effect on the market price of our stock.
Holders of our Class B common stock are entitled to the lesser of ten votes per share or 49% of the total votes cast, and each share of Class B common stock is convertible at any time into one share of our common stock. Holders of our common stock are entitled to one vote for each share owned. Holders of our Class A common stock have no voting rights, except as required by Delaware law.
As of September 30, 2023, William E. Brown, our Chairman and founder, beneficially controlled approximately 55% of the voting power of our capital stock. Accordingly, except to the extent that a class vote of the common stock is required by applicable law or our charter, he can effectively control all matters requiring stockholder approval, including the election of our directors, and can exert substantial control over our management and policies. The disproportionate voting rights of our Class B common stock and Mr. Brown’s substantial holdings of Class B common stock could have an adverse effect on the market price of our common stock and Class A common stock. Also, such disproportionate voting rights and Mr. Brown’s controlling interest may make us a less attractive target for a takeover than we otherwise might be, or render more difficult or discourage a merger proposal, tender offer or proxy contest, even if such actions were favored by our other stockholders, which could thereby deprive holders of common stock or Class A common stock of an opportunity to sell their shares for a “take-over” premium.
We have authorized the issuance of shares of common stock, Class A common stock and preferred stock, which may discourage potential acquisitions of our business and could have an adverse effect on the market price of our common stock and our Class A common stock.
Pursuant to our Fourth Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, the Board of Directors is authorized to issue up to 80,000,000 shares of our common stock, 100,000,000 shares of our nonvoting Class A common stock, 3,000,000 shares of our Class B common stock and up to 1,000,000 additional shares of preferred stock without seeking the approval or consent of our stockholders, unless required by the NASDAQ Global Market. Although the issuance of the additional shares of nonvoting Class A common stock would not dilute the voting rights of the existing stockholders, it would have a dilutive effect on the economic interest of currently outstanding shares of common stock and Class B common stock similar to the dilutive effect of subsequent issuances of ordinary common stock. The issuance of preferred stock could, depending on the rights and privileges designated by the board with respect to any particular series, have a dilutive effect on the voting interests of the common stock and Class B common stock and the economic interests of our common stock, Class A
common stock and Class B common stock. In addition, the disproportionate voting rights of our Class B common stock, and the ability of the board to issue stock to persons aligned with current management, may make us a less attractive target for a takeover than we otherwise might be or render more difficult or discourage a merger proposal, tender offer or proxy contest, even if such actions were favored by our common stockholders, which could thereby deprive holders of common stock of an opportunity to sell their shares for a “take-over” premium.

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ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS
Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments
None.

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ITEM 2. PROPERTIES
Item 2. Properties
We currently operate 43 manufacturing facilities totaling approximately 6.6 million square feet and 58 sales and distribution facilities totaling approximately 5.3 million square feet. Most sales and distribution centers consist of office and warehouse space, and several large bays for loading and unloading. Each sales and distribution center provides warehouse, distribution, sales and support functions for its geographic area. Our executive offices are located in Walnut Creek, California.
In addition to the manufacturing and sales and distribution facilities, the Garden segment leases approximately 397 acres of land in Oregon, New Jersey and Virginia used in its grass seed and live plant operations and owns approximately 2,341 acres of land in Virginia, North Carolina, Maryland, Ohio, New Jersey and Kentucky used in its live plant operations. The Pet segment leases approximately 8 acres of land in Florida to support its live fish operations.
We continually review the number, location and size of our manufacturing and sales and logistics facilities and expect to make changes over time to optimize our manufacturing and distribution footprints. We lease 20 of our manufacturing facilities and 46 of our sales and logistics facilities. These leases generally expire between fiscal years 2024 and 2034. Substantially all of the leases contain renewal provisions with automatic rent escalation clauses. The facilities we own are subject to major encumbrances under our principal credit facility. In addition to the facilities that are owned, our fixed assets are comprised primarily of machinery and equipment, trucks and warehousing, transportation and computer equipment.

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ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
Item 3. Legal Proceedings
In 2012, Nite Glow Industries, Inc. and its owner, Marni Markel, ("Nite Glow") filed suit in the U.S. District Court for New Jersey against the Company alleging that the applicator developed and used by the Company for certain of its branded topical flea and tick products infringes a patent held by Nite Glow and asserted related claims for breach of contract and misappropriation of confidential information based on the terms of a Non-Disclosure Agreement. On June 27, 2018, a jury returned a verdict in favor of Nite Glow on each of the three claims and awarded damages of approximately $12.6 million. The court ruled on post-trial motions in early June 2020, reducing the judgment amount to $12.4 million and denying the plaintiff's request for attorneys' fees. The Company filed its notice of appeal and the plaintiffs cross-appealed. On July 14, 2021, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals issued its decision on the appeal. The Federal Circuit concluded that the Company did not infringe plaintiff's patent and determined that the breach of contract claim raised no non-duplicative damages and should be dismissed. The court affirmed the jury's liability verdict on the misappropriation of confidential information claim but ordered a new trial on damages on that single claim limited to the "head start" benefit, if any, generated by the confidential information. The Company intends to vigorously pursue its defenses in the future proceedings and believes that it will prevail on the merits as to the head start damages issue. While the Company believes that the ultimate resolution of this matter will not have a material impact on the Company's consolidated financial statements, the outcome of litigation is inherently uncertain and the final resolution of this matter may result in expense to the Company in excess of management's expectations.
From time to time, we are involved in certain legal proceedings in the ordinary course of business. Except as discussed above, we are not currently a party to any other legal proceedings that management believes could have a material effect on our financial position or results of operations.

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ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURE
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures
Not applicable.
PART II

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ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT'S COMMON EQUITY
Item 5. Market for the Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
Our common stock is traded on the NASDAQ Stock Market under the symbol CENT, and our Class A common stock is traded on the NASDAQ Stock Market under the symbol CENTA. Our Class B stock is not listed on any market and generally cannot be transferred unless converted to common stock on a one-for-one basis.
As of November 15, 2023, there were 74 holders of record of our common stock, 368 holders of record of our Class A nonvoting common stock and three holders of record of our Class B stock.
Stock Performance Graph
The following graph compares the percentage change of our cumulative total stockholder return on our Common Stock (“CENT”) for the period from September 29, 2018 to September 30, 2023 with the cumulative total return of the NASDAQ Composite (U.S.) Index and the Dow Jones Non-Durable Household Products Index, a peer group index consisting of approximately 30 manufacturers and distributors of household products.
The comparisons in the graph below are based on historical data and are not indicative of, or intended to forecast, the possible future performance of our Common Stock.
Total Return Analysis
9/29/2018 9/28/2019 9/26/2020 9/25/2021 9/24/2022 9/30/2023
Central Garden & Pet Company $ 100.00 $ 82.10 $ 104.88 $ 129.50 $ 104.44 $ 122.48
NASDAQ Composite $ 100.00 $ 99.80 $ 138.59 $ 192.50 $ 140.19 $ 172.00
Dow Jones US Nondurable Household Products $ 100.00 $ 146.64 $ 168.86 $ 175.52 $ 168.35 $ 186.52
Purchases of Equity Securities by the Issuer and Affiliated Purchasers
The following table sets forth the repurchases of any equity securities during the fourth quarter of the fiscal year ended September 30, 2023 and the dollar amount of authorized share repurchases remaining under our stock repurchase programs.
Period Total Number
of Shares
(or Units)
Purchased Average
Price Paid
per Share
(or Unit) Total Number of
Shares (or Units)
Purchased as
Part of Publicly
Announced Plans
or Programs Maximum Number
(or Approximate
Dollar Value) of
Shares (or Units)
that May Yet Be
Purchased Under
the Plans or
Programs (1) (2)
June 25, 2023 - July 29, 2023 65,268 (2) (3)
$ 36.50 65,268 $ 83,235,000
July 30, 2023 - August 26, 2023 3,530 (3)
42.84 - 83,235,000
August 27, 2023 - September 30, 2023 527 (3) 41.98 - 83,235,000
Total 69,325 $ 36.87 65,268 $ 83,235,000 (4)
(1)In August 2019, our Board of Directors authorized a share repurchase program to purchase up to $100 million of our common stock (the "2019 Repurchase Authorization”). The 2019 Repurchase Authorization has no fixed expiration date and expires when the amount authorized has been used or the Board withdraws its authorization. The repurchase of shares may be limited by certain financial covenants in our credit facility that restrict our ability to repurchase our stock. As of September 30, 2023, we had $83.2 million of authorization remaining under our 2019 Repurchase Authorization.
(2)In February 2019, our Board of Directors authorized us to make supplemental stock purchases to minimize dilution resulting from issuances under our equity compensation plans (the “Equity Dilution Authorization”). In addition to our regular share repurchase program, we are permitted to purchase annually a number of shares equal to the number of shares of restricted stock and stock options granted in the prior fiscal year, to the extent not already repurchased, and the current fiscal year. The Equity Dilution Authorization has no fixed expiration date and expires when the Board withdraws its authorization.
(3)Shares purchased during the period indicated represent withholding of a portion of shares to cover taxes in connection with the vesting of restricted stock and do not reduce the dollar value of shares that may be purchased under our stock repurchase plan.
(4)During the period June 25 through July 29, 2023, 65,268 shares were repurchased under the two plans, including 30,734 shares under the Equity Dilution Authorization and 34,534 shares under the 2019 Repurchase Authorization.

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ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA
Item 6. Reserved

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ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
The following is management’s discussion of the financial results, liquidity and other key items related to our performance. This discussion should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and the related notes and other financial information appearing elsewhere in this Form 10-K. This Form 10-K contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results may differ materially from those indicated in forward-looking statements. See “Forward-Looking Statements” and “Item 1A - Risk Factors.”
Business Overview
Central Garden & Pet Company is a leading innovator, producer and distributor of branded and private label products for the lawn & garden and pet supplies markets in the United States.
In fiscal 2023, our consolidated net sales were $3.3 billion, of which our Pet segment, or Pet, accounted for approximately $1.9 billion and our Garden segment, or Garden, accounted for approximately $1.4 billion. In fiscal 2023, our operating income was $211 million, consisting of income from our Pet segment of $198 million, income from our Garden segment of $123 million and corporate expenses of $111 million.
Fiscal 2023 Financial Highlights
Financial summary:
•Net sales for fiscal 2023 decreased $28.5 million, or 0.9%, to $3,310 million. The decline in sales was primarily in our Garden segment, the sales of which decreased $27.6 million, or 1.9%.
•Gross profit for fiscal 2023 decreased $45.5 million, or 4.6%, to $946.8 million. Gross margin declined 110 basis points in fiscal 2023 to 28.6%, from 29.7% in fiscal 2022. On a non-GAAP basis, gross margin declined 80 basis points in fiscal 2023.
•Our operating income decreased $49.4 million, or 19.0%, to $210.6 million in fiscal 2023. On a non-GAAP basis, operating income declined $32.8 million in fiscal 2023.
•Net income for fiscal 2023 was $125.6 million, or $2.35 per share on a diluted basis compared to $152.2 million, or $2.80 per share on a diluted basis in fiscal 2022. On a non-GAAP basis, net income was $138.5 million, or $2.59 per share on a diluted basis compared to $152.2 million, or $2.80 per share on a diluted basis in fiscal 2022.
Recent Developments:
Pet Segment Facility Closures
As part of our Cost and Simplicity program, we closed several facilities in fiscal 2023. In the third quarter of fiscal 2023, we closed a leased manufacturing and distribution facility in Athens, Texas. In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023, we closed a leased manufacturing and distribution facility in Amarillo, Texas. The closures reflect our purposeful exit of low-margin private-label pet bed product lines and our efforts to leverage the supply chain synergies of our cushion facilities, and to achieve a simpler, more efficient manufacturing and distribution network in our outdoor cushion facilities. As a result, in fiscal 2023 we incurred approximately $15.7 million of one-time costs, including $9.8 million in cost of goods sold and $5.9 million in selling, general and administrative expenses, composed of charges for facilities closure, severance, inventory liquidation and related intangibles, the majority of which was non-cash.
Sale of Garden Segment Independent Distribution Business
In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023, we sold our independent garden center distribution business for approximately $20 million for inventory and the related customer data. Associated with the sale, we are closing one facility and part of another facility due to excess space previously dedicated to serving the independent garden channel. As a result of these planned closures, we recorded a gain of $5.8 million
which is net of the inventory sold, inventory transport costs and the associated facility closure costs, including severance. The gain was recorded as part of selling, general and administrative expenses.
We exited the independent garden center distribution business to simplify our garden business and optimize our customer footprint. While we exited the distribution of products to the independent garden center channel, we retained our third-party distribution business with our largest three retail partners and other select national accounts. The business sold represented less than 5% of our Garden net sales.
Subsequent Event
On November 3, 2023, we acquired TDBBS, LLC (“TDBBS”), a provider of premium natural dog chews and treats for approximately $60 million. The addition of TDBBS will expand our portfolio with bully and collagen sticks, bones and jerky, add scale to our dog and cat business and enhance our eCommerce and digital capabilities.
Results of Operations (GAAP)
The following table sets forth, for the periods indicated, the relative percentages that certain income and expense items bear to net sales:
Fiscal Year Ended
September 30, 2023 September 24, 2022 September 25, 2021
Net sales 100.0 % 100.0 % 100.0 %
Cost of goods sold and occupancy 71.4 70.3 70.6
Gross profit 28.6 29.7 29.4
Selling, general and administrative 22.2 21.9 21.7
Operating income 6.4 7.8 7.7
Interest expense, net (1.5) (1.7) (1.8)
Other expense, net - (0.1) -
Income taxes 1.1 1.4 1.3
Net income 3.8 % 4.6 % 4.6 %
Fiscal 2023 Compared to Fiscal 2022
Net Sales
Net sales for fiscal 2023 decreased $28.5 million, or 0.9%, to $3,310.1 million from $3,338.6 million in fiscal 2022, even with the benefit of an additional week in fiscal 2023 compared to fiscal 2022. Our branded product sales, which include products we produce under Central brand names and products we produce under third-party brands, decreased $33.2 million, and sales of other manufacturers’ products increased $4.7 million. The decline in branded sales was due primarily to lower sales of private label products we produce under third-party brands in both the Garden and Pet segments. Sales of branded products represented 78% of our net sales in both fiscal 2023 and fiscal 2022. Sales of other manufacturers' products represented 22% of our net sales.
The following table indicates each class of similar products which represented approximately 10% or more of our consolidated net sales in the fiscal years presented:
Category 2023 2022 2021
(in millions)
Other garden products $ 832.2 $ 865.3 $ 876.6
Other pet products 699.4
765.9 767.0
Other manufacturers' products 734.9 730.2
749.1
Dog & cat products 568.6 542.9 570.9
Wild bird 475.0 434.3 340.1
Total $ 3,310.1 $ 3,338.6 $ 3,303.7
Pet net sales decreased $0.9 million, to $1,877.2 million in fiscal 2023 from $1,878.1 million in fiscal 2022. The decline in Pet net sales was volume-related and due primarily to lower demand for durable pet products, particularly in our outdoor cushion business and aquatics business, and our exit of profit-challenged product lines in our private label pet bed business. These declines were partially offset by
increased sales in our dog and cat treats and toys business and our wild bird feed business. Pet branded sales decreased $14.1 million, and sales of other manufacturers' products increased $13.2 million.
Garden net sales decreased $27.6 million, or 1.9%, to $1,432.9 million in fiscal 2023 from $1,460.5 million in fiscal 2022. The decrease in Garden net sales was due primarily to lower sales in our private-label controls and fertilizer business and our grass seed business, partially offset by increased sales in our wild bird feed business. The volume related sales decline was due primarily to adverse weather during our second quarter of fiscal 2023, unfavorable retailer inventory management and lighter retailer foot traffic. Garden branded sales decreased $19.1 million and sales of other manufacturers' products decreased $8.5 million.
Gross Profit
Gross profit in fiscal 2023 decreased $45.5 million, or 4.6%, to $946.8 million from $992.3 million in fiscal 2022. Gross margin declined 110 basis points to 28.6% in fiscal 2023 from 29.7% in fiscal 2022. The decrease in gross profit resulted from declines in both net sales and gross margin, primarily in Garden, impacted by unfavorable overhead absorption and inflation.
On a non-GAAP basis, excluding $9.8 million related to the facility closures in Pet, gross profit decreased $35.7 million and gross margin declined 80 basis points. Garden decreases in both gross profit and gross margin were partially offset by minor increases in Pet, compared to the prior year. The decline in Garden gross margin was due primarily to unfavorable overhead absorption, impacted by lower sales and production volumes, initial start-up costs associated with a live goods facility acquired in the prior year, and cost inflation, partially offset by pricing actions.
Selling, General and Administrative
Selling, general and administrative expenses increased $3.9 million, or 0.5%, from $732.3 million in fiscal 2022 to $736.2 million in fiscal 2023. As a percentage of net sales, selling, general and administrative expenses increased from 21.9% in fiscal 2022 to 22.2% in fiscal 2023. The increase was due to $6.8 million related to the closure of facilities in the Pet segment and intangible asset impairments, partially offset by the gain from the sale of the independent garden center distribution business. Excluding these items, non-GAAP selling, general and administrative expense declined $2.9 million and as a percentage of net sales was 22.0%.
Selling and delivery expense decreased $20.6 million, or 5.8%, to $337.5 million in fiscal 2023 and decreased as a percentage of net sales from 10.7% in fiscal 2022 to 10.2% in fiscal 2023. The decrease in selling and delivery expense, in both the Garden and Pet segments, was due primarily to reduced commercial spend in an effort to align with the lower retailer foot traffic and lower product volume.
Warehouse and administrative expense increased $24.5 million, or 6.6%, to $398.7 million in fiscal 2023 and increased as a percentage of net sales to 12.0% in fiscal 2023 from 11.2% in fiscal 2022. The increase in warehouse and administrative expense was primarily in the Pet segment and secondarily in Corporate. Pet included $8.7 million of expense related to facility closures and the impairment of an intangible asset. Garden had a relatively small increase in warehouse and administrative expense, due to income of $1.8 million resulting from a $5.8 million gain from the sale of the independent garden center distribution business, which is net of related facility closure costs, and intangible asset impairment. Corporate expenses increased $8.0 million due primarily to an increase in payroll related costs, medical insurance and legal expense partially offset by discretionary spend reductions (e.g., travel and entertainment expense). Corporate expenses included within administrative expense relate to the costs of unallocated executive, administrative, finance, legal, human resources, and information technology functions.
Operating Income
Operating income decreased $49.4 million, or 19.0%, to $210.6 million in fiscal 2023 from $260.0 million in fiscal 2022. Our operating margin was 6.4% in fiscal 2023, decreasing from 7.8% in fiscal 2022. Decreased sales of $28.5 million, a 110 basis point decline in gross margin and increased selling, general and administrative expenses all contributed to a lower operating income. Contributing to the lower gross margin and increased selling, general administrative expenses were facility closures and intangible asset impairments. Excluding the impact of these costs, on a non-GAAP basis, operating margin was 6.9%.
Pet operating income decreased $10.9 million, or 5.2%, to $198.0 million in fiscal 2023 from $208.9 million in fiscal 2022. Pet operating income decreased due to slightly lower sales, a decrease in gross margin and increased selling, general and administrative expenses. Pet operating margin decreased from 11.1% in fiscal 2022 to 10.5% in fiscal 2023. On a non-GAAP basis, Pet operating income increased $7.5 million and operating margin increased to 11.5% in fiscal 2023.
Garden operating income decreased $30.5 million, or 19.8%, to $123.5 million in fiscal 2023 from $154.0 million in fiscal 2022. Garden was the largest contributor to the Company’s lower operating income and operating margin. Garden operating income decreased due to lower sales and a lower gross margin, partially offset by lower selling, general and administrative expenses. Garden operating income and operating margin were negatively impacted by lower sales volumes due primarily to adverse weather, unfavorable retailer inventory management and lighter retailer foot traffic.
Corporate expenses increased $8.0 million due primarily to an increase in payroll related costs, medical insurance and legal expense partially offset by discretionary spend reductions (e.g., travel and entertainment expense).
Net Interest Expense
Net interest expense decreased $7.9 million, or 13.7%, from $57.5 million in fiscal 2022 to $49.7 million in fiscal 2023. The decrease in net interest expense was due to increased interest income resulting from both higher interest rates and higher cash balances during fiscal 2023.
Debt outstanding on September 30, 2023 was $1,188.2 million compared to $1,186.6 million as of September 24, 2022. Our average borrowing rate was 4.5% in both fiscal 2023 and fiscal 2022.
Other Income (Expense)
Other income (expense) is comprised of income or loss from investments accounted for under the equity method of accounting and foreign currency exchange gains and losses. Other income (expense) was $1.5 million of income in fiscal 2023 compared to an expense of $3.6 million for fiscal 2022, due primarily to foreign currency gains in fiscal 2023 as compared to foreign currency losses in fiscal 2022.
Income Tax
Our effective income tax rate was 22.4% for fiscal 2023 compared to 23.2% for fiscal 2022. The decrease in our effective income tax rate was primarily due to a decrease in the blended state income tax rate from a mix change in the states where income was earned in the current year as compared to the prior year.
Net Income and Earnings Per Share
Our net income for fiscal 2023 was $125.6 million, or $2.35 per diluted share, compared to $152.2 million, or $2.80 per diluted share, for fiscal 2022. On a non-GAAP basis, net income in fiscal 2023 was $138.5 million, or $2.59 per diluted share.
Fiscal 2022 Compared to Fiscal 2021
For a discussion of our results of operations in fiscal 2022 compared to fiscal 2021, please see Item 7 of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 24, 2022 filed with the SEC.
Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures
We report our financial results in accordance with GAAP. However, to supplement the financial results prepared in accordance with GAAP, we use non-GAAP financial measures including adjusted EBITDA, non-GAAP operating income, and non-GAAP net income and diluted net income per share. Management believes these non-GAAP financial measures that exclude the impact of specific items (described below) may be useful to investors in their assessment of our ongoing operating performance and provide additional meaningful comparisons between current results and results in prior operating periods.
Adjusted EBITDA is defined by us as income before income tax, net other expense, net interest expense and depreciation and amortization and stock-based compensation expense (or operating income plus depreciation and amortization expense and stock-based compensation expense). Adjusted EBITDA further excludes one-time charges related to facility closures, the gain from the sale of our independent garden center distribution business and intangible asset impairment charges. We present adjusted EBITDA because we believe that adjusted EBITDA is a useful supplemental measure in evaluating the cash flows and performance of our business and provides greater transparency into our results of operations. Adjusted EBITDA is used by our management to perform such evaluations. Adjusted EBITDA should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for cash flow from operations, income from operations or other income statement measures prepared in accordance with GAAP. We believe that adjusted EBITDA is frequently used by investors, securities analysts and other interested parties in their evaluation of companies, many of which present adjusted EBITDA when reporting their results. Other companies may calculate adjusted EBITDA differently and it may not be comparable.
The reconciliations of these non-GAAP measures to the most directly comparable financial measures calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP are shown in the tables below. We believe that the non-GAAP financial measures provide useful information to investors and other users of our financial statements, by allowing for greater transparency in the review of our financial and operating performance. Management also uses these non-GAAP financial measures in making financial, operating and planning decisions and in evaluating our performance, and we believe these measures similarly may be useful to investors in evaluating our financial and operating performance and the trends in our business from management's point of view. While our management believes that non-GAAP measurements are useful supplemental information, such adjusted results are not intended to replace our GAAP financial results and should be read in conjunction with those GAAP results.
Non-GAAP financial measures reflect adjustments based on the following items:
•Facility closures: we exclude the impact of the closure of facilities as they represent infrequent transactions that occur in limited circumstances that impact the comparability between operating periods. We believe the adjustment of closure costs supplements the GAAP information with a measure that may be used to assess the performance of our ongoing operations.
•Gain on sale of a business or service line: we exclude the impact of the gain on the sale of a business as it represents an infrequent transaction that occurs in limited circumstances that impacts the comparability between operating periods. We believe the adjustment of this gain supplements the GAAP information with a measure that may be used to assess the performance of our ongoing operations.
•Asset impairment charges: we exclude the impact of asset impairments on intangible assets as such non-cash amounts are inconsistent in amount and frequency. We believe that the adjustment of these charges supplements the GAAP information with a measure that can be used to assess the performance of our ongoing operations.
•Tax impact: adjustment represents the impact of the tax effect of the pre-tax non-GAAP adjustments excluded from non-GAAP net income. The tax impact of the non-GAAP adjustments is calculated based on the consolidated effective tax rate on a GAAP basis, applied to the non-GAAP adjustments, unless the underlying item has a materially different tax treatment.
From time to time in the future, there may be other items that we may exclude if we believe that doing so is consistent with the goal of providing useful information to investors and management.
The non-GAAP adjustments made reflect the following:
(1)During the third quarter of fiscal 2023, we recognized incremental expense of $13.9 million in our Pet segment in the consolidated statement of operations, from the closure of a leased manufacturing and distribution facility in Athens, Texas. During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023, we recognized incremental expense of $1.8 million in our Pet segment in the consolidated statement of operations, from the closure of a leased manufacturing and distribution facility in Amarillo, Texas.
(2)During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023, we recognized a gain of $5.8 million from the sale of our independent garden center distribution business, which includes the impact of associated facility closure costs. The gain is included in selling, general and administrative expense in the consolidated statements of operations.
(3)During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023, we recognized a non-cash impairment charge in our Pet segment of $2.8 million related to the impairment of intangible assets caused by the loss of a significant customer in our live fish business. Also, during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023, we recognized a non-cash impairment charge in our Garden segment of $3.9 million related to the impairment of intangible assets due to reduced demand for products we sold under an acquired trade name. The impairments were recorded as part of selling, general and administrative costs.
Operating Income Reconciliation GAAP to Non-GAAP Reconciliation
Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2023
GAAP Adjustments(1)(2)(3)
Non-GAAP
(in thousands)
Net sales
$ 3,310,083 $ - $ 3,310,083
Cost of goods sold and occupancy 2,363,241 9,761 2,353,480
Gross profit 946,842 (9,761) 956,603
Selling, general and administrative expenses 736,196 6,798 729,398
Income from operations $ 210,646 $ (16,559) $ 227,205
GAAP to Non-GAAP Reconciliation
For the Fiscal Year Ended
Pet Segment Operating Income Reconciliation September 30, 2023 September 24, 2022
(in thousands)
GAAP operating income $ 198,004 $ 208,924
Facility closure and intangible asset impairment (1)(3) 18,457 -
Non-GAAP operating income $ 216,461 $ 208,924
GAAP operating margin 10.5 % 11.1 %
Non-GAAP operating margin 11.5 % 11.1 %
GAAP to Non-GAAP Reconciliation
For the Fiscal Year Ended
Garden Segment Operating Income Reconciliation September 30, 2023 September 24, 2022
(in thousands)
GAAP operating income $ 123,455 $ 153,956
Garden independent distribution sale and intangible asset impairment (2)(3) (1,898) -
Non-GAAP operating income $ 121,557 $ 153,956
GAAP operating margin 8.6 % 10.5 %
Non-GAAP operating margin 8.5 % 10.5 %
GAAP to Non-GAAP Reconciliation
For the Fiscal Year Ended
September 30, 2023 September 24, 2022
(in thousands, except per share amount)
Net Income and Diluted Net Income Per Share Reconciliation
GAAP net income attributable to Central Garden & Pet Company $ 125,643 $ 152,152
Pet facilities closures (1) 15,672 -
Independent garden channel distribution sale and related facility closure (2) (5,844) -
Intangible impairments (3) 6,731 -
Tax effect of adjustments (3,705) -
Non-GAAP net income attributable to Central Garden & Pet Company $ 138,497 $ 152,152
GAAP diluted net income per share $ 2.35 $ 2.80
Non-GAAP diluted net income per share $ 2.59 $ 2.80
Shares used in GAAP and non-GAAP diluted net income per share calculation 53,427 54,425
GAAP to non-GAAP Reconciliation
Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2023
Adjusted EBITDA Reconciliation Pet Garden Corp Total
(in thousands)
Net income attributable to Central Garden & Pet $ - $ - $ - $ 125,643
Interest expense, net - - - 49,663
Other income - - - (1,462)
Income tax expense - - - 36,348
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interest - - - 454
Sum of items below operating income - - - 85,003
Income (loss) from operations 198,004 123,455 (110,813) 210,646
Depreciation & amortization 41,126 43,375 3,199 87,700
Noncash stock-based compensation - - 27,990 27,990
Non-GAAP adjustments (1)(2)(3) 18,457 (1,898) - 16,559
Adjusted EBITDA $ 257,587 $ 164,932 $ (79,624) $ 342,895
GAAP to non-GAAP Reconciliation
Fiscal Year Ended September 24, 2022
Adjusted EBITDA Reconciliation Pet Garden Corp Total
(in thousands)
Net income attributable to Central Garden & Pet $ - $ - $ - $ 152,152
Interest expense, net - - - 57,534
Other expense - - - 3,596
Income tax expense - - - 46,234
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interest - - - 520
Sum of items below operating income - - - 107,884
Income (loss) from operations 208,924 153,956 (102,844) 260,036
Depreciation & amortization 38,960 36,583 5,405 80,948
Noncash stock-based compensation - - 25,817 25,817
Adjusted EBITDA $ 247,884 $ 190,539 $ (71,622) $ 366,801
Inflation
Our revenues and margins are dependent on various economic factors, including rates of inflation, energy costs, interest rates, consumer attitudes toward discretionary spending, currency fluctuations, and other macro-economic factors which may impact levels of consumer spending. In fiscal years 2021 through 2023, we were adversely impacted by high input costs due to inflation, particularly relating to prices for grain and seed, fuel and the ingredients used in our garden controls and fertilizer business as well as heightened import costs such as shipping container costs and tariffs. In fiscal 2022, our gross and operating margins increased as we were able to increase prices to offset higher input costs. Costs continued rise in fiscal 2023, however, and we were unable to continue to increase prices to our customers at a pace sufficient for us to maintain our margins.
In fiscal 2023, we continued to experience inflationary pressures, although at a reduced rate in the latter months of the fiscal year. In fiscal 2022, we continued to experience increasing inflationary pressure, including notable increases in costs for key commodities, materials, labor and freight. During fiscal 2021, inflation was broad-based and we saw significant increases across commodity and material costs, freight and labor.
Weather and Seasonality
Our sales of lawn and garden products are influenced by weather and climate conditions in the different markets we serve. Our Garden segment’s business is highly seasonal. In fiscal 2023, approximately 67% of our Garden segment’s net sales and 58% of our total net sales occurred during our second and third fiscal quarters. Substantially all of the Garden segment’s operating income is typically generated in this period.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
We have financed our growth through a combination of internally generated funds, bank borrowings, supplier credit, and sales of equity and debt securities to the public.
Our business is seasonal and our working capital requirements and capital resources track closely to this seasonal pattern. Generally, during the first fiscal quarter, accounts receivable reach their lowest level while inventory, accounts payable and short-term borrowings begin to increase. During the second fiscal quarter, receivables, accounts payable and short-term borrowings increase, reflecting the build-up of inventory and related payables in anticipation of the peak lawn and garden selling season. During the third fiscal quarter, inventory levels remain relatively constant while accounts receivable peak and short-term borrowings start to decline as cash collections are received during the peak selling season. During the fourth fiscal quarter, inventory levels are at their lowest, and accounts receivable and payables are substantially reduced through conversion of receivables to cash.
We service two broad markets: pet supplies and lawn and garden supplies. Our pet supplies businesses involve products that have a year-round selling cycle with a slight degree of seasonality. As a result, it is not necessary to maintain large quantities of inventory to meet peak demands. Our lawn and garden businesses are highly seasonal with approximately 67% of our Garden segment’s net sales occurring during the second and third fiscal quarters. This seasonality requires the shipment of large quantities of product well ahead of the peak consumer buying periods. To encourage retailers and distributors to stock large quantities of inventory, industry practice has been for manufacturers to give extended credit terms and/or promotional discounts.
Operating Activities
Net cash provided by operating activities increased $415.6 million, from $34.0 million of cash used in operating activities in fiscal 2022 to $381.6 million of cash provided by operating activities in fiscal 2023. The increase in cash provided was due primarily to changes in our working capital accounts, primarily a decrease in inventory, due to our focus on converting inventory to cash, and in accounts receivable.
Net cash used in operating activities increased $284.8 million, from $250.8 million of cash provided by operating activities in fiscal 2021 to $34.0 million of cash used in operating activities in fiscal 2022. The increase in cash used was due primarily to changes in our working capital accounts, primarily an increase in inventory, driven in part by higher costs of inventory in this inflationary environment as well as management's decision to increase inventory levels to help improve fill rates and customer service adversely impacted by a challenged supply chain.
Investing Activities
Net cash used in investing activities decreased $108.4 million from $143.0 million in fiscal 2022 to $34.6 million in fiscal 2023. The decrease in cash used in investing activities was due primarily to reduced capital expenditures, decreased investments in fiscal 2023 compared to fiscal 2022, and proceeds received from the sale of our independent garden center distribution business.
Net cash used in investing activities decreased $756.4 million from $899.4 million in fiscal 2021 to $143.0 million in fiscal 2022. The decrease in cash used in investing activities was due primarily to acquisition activity in the prior year. The decrease was partially offset by an increase in capital expenditures of approximately $35 million in the current year compared to the prior year and increased investments in the current year compared to the prior year. During fiscal 2021, we acquired DoMyOwn for approximately $81 million, Hopewell Nursery for approximately $81 million, Green Garden Products for approximately $571 million and D&D Commodities for approximately $88 million.
Financing Activities
Net cash used by financing activities decreased $29.2 million from $66.8 million of cash used in fiscal 2022 to $37.6 million of cash used in fiscal 2023. The decrease in cash used by financing activities during the current year was due primarily to lower stock repurchase activity in fiscal 2023 compared to fiscal 2022.
Net cash used in financing activities increased $487.3 million from $420.5 million of cash provided in fiscal 2021 to $66.8 million of cash used in fiscal 2022. The increase in cash used in financing activities during the fiscal 2022 was due primarily to our prior year issuance of $500 million of our 2030 Notes in October 2020 and $400 million of our 2031 Notes in April 2021, partially offset by the prior year repayment of our 2023 Notes and the corresponding premium paid on extinguishment as well as debt issuance costs incurred on the issuances of the 2030 Notes and 2031 Notes. We also increased open market purchases of our common stock during fiscal 2022 as compared to fiscal 2021.
We expect that our principal sources of funds will be cash generated from our operations, proceeds from our debt and equity offerings, and, if necessary, borrowings under our $750 million asset backed loan facility. Based on our anticipated cash needs, availability under our asset backed loan facility and the scheduled maturity of our debt, we believe that our sources of liquidity should be adequate to meet our working capital, capital spending and other cash needs for at least the next 12 months. However, we cannot assure you that these sources will continue to provide us with sufficient liquidity and, should we require it, that we will be able to obtain financing on terms satisfactory to us, or at all.
We anticipate that our capital expenditures, which are related primarily to replacements and expansion of and upgrades to plant and equipment and also investment in our continued implementation of a scalable enterprise-wide information technology platform, will be approximately $70 million over the next 12 months.
As part of our growth strategy, we have acquired a large number of businesses in the past, and we anticipate that we will continue to evaluate potential acquisition candidates in the future. If one or more potential acquisition opportunities, including those that would be material, become available in the near future, we may require additional external capital. In addition, such acquisitions would subject us to the general risks associated with acquiring companies, particularly if the acquisitions are relatively large.
Stock Repurchases
During fiscal 2023, we repurchased approximately 0.6 million shares of our non-voting common stock (CENTA) on the open market at an aggregate cost of approximately $22.2 million, or $35.31 per share, and approximately 0.2 million of our voting common stock (CENT) on the open market at an aggregate cost of approximately $8.5 million, or $37.31 per share. During fiscal 2022, we repurchased approximately 1.4 million shares of our non-voting common stock (CENTA) on the open market at an aggregate cost of approximately $56.2 million, or $40.79 per share, and approximately 39,000 shares of our voting common stock (CENT) on the open market at an aggregate cost of approximately $1.6 million, or $39.72 per share, in addition to $5.4 million used for minimum statutory tax withholdings related to the net share settlement of our stock.
In August 2019, our Board of Directors authorized a share repurchase program to purchase up to $100 million of our common stock (the "2019 Repurchase Authorization"). The 2019 Repurchase Authorization has no fixed expiration date and expires when the amount authorized has been used or the Board withdraws its authorization. As of September 30, 2023, we had $83.2 million remaining under our 2019 Repurchase Authorization.
In February 2019, the Board of Directors authorized us to make supplemental purchases to minimize dilution resulting from issuances under our equity compensation plans (the "Equity Dilution Authorization"). In addition to our regular share repurchase program, we are permitted to purchase annually a number of shares equal to the number of shares of restricted stock or stock options granted in the prior fiscal year, to the extent not already repurchased, and the current fiscal year. The Equity Dilution Authorization has no fixed expiration date and expires when the Board withdraws its authorization. As of September 30, 2023, we did not have any shares remaining to repurchase under our Equity Dilution Authorization.
Total Debt
At September 30, 2023, our total debt outstanding was $1,188.2 million versus $1,186.6 million at September 24, 2022.
Senior Notes
Issuance of $400 million 4.125% Senior Notes due 2031
On April 30, 2021, we issued $400 million aggregate principal amount of 4.125% senior notes due April 2031 (the "2031 Notes"). We used a portion of the net proceeds from the offering to repay all outstanding borrowings under our Amended Credit Facility, with the remainder used for general corporate purposes.
We incurred approximately $6 million of debt issuance costs in conjunction with this issuance, which included underwriter fees and legal, accounting and rating agency expenses. The debt issuance costs are being amortized over the term of the 2031 Notes.
The 2031 Notes require semi-annual interest payments on April 30 and October 30. The 2031 Notes are unconditionally guaranteed on a senior basis by each of our existing and future domestic restricted subsidiaries which are borrowers under or guarantors of our Amended Credit Facility. The 2031 Notes were issued in a private placement under Rule 144A and will not be registered under the Securities Act of 1933.
We may redeem some or all of the 2031 Notes at anytime, at our option, prior to April 30, 2026, at the principal amount plus a "make whole" premium. At any time prior to April 30, 2024, we may also redeem, at our option, up to 40% of the notes with the proceeds of certain equity offerings at a redemption price of 104.125% of the principal amount of the notes. We may redeem some or all of the 2031 Notes at our option, at any time on or after April 30, 2026 for 102.063%, on or after April 30, 2027 for 101.375%, on or after April 30, 2028 for 100.688% and on or after April 30, 2029 for 100.0%, plus accrued and unpaid interest.
The holders of the 2031 Notes have the right to require us to repurchase all or a portion of the 2031 Notes at a purchase price equal to 101% of the principal amount of the notes repurchased, plus accrued and unpaid interest, upon the occurrence of specific kinds of changes of control.
The 2031 Notes contain customary high yield covenants, including covenants limiting debt incurrence and restricted payments, subject to certain baskets and exceptions. We were in compliance with all financial covenants as of September 30, 2023.
Issuance of $500 million 4.125% Senior Notes due 2030
In October 2020, we issued $500 million aggregate principal amount of 4.125% senior notes due October 2030 (the "2030 Notes"). In November 2020, we used a portion of the net proceeds to redeem all of our outstanding 6.125% senior notes due November 2023 (the "2023 Notes") at a redemption price of 101.531% plus accrued and unpaid interest, and to pay related fees and expenses, with the remainder used for general corporate purposes.
We incurred approximately $8.0 million of debt issuance costs associated with this transaction, which included underwriter fees and legal, accounting and rating agency expenses. The debt issuance costs are being amortized over the term of the 2030 Notes.
The 2030 Notes require semiannual interest payments on October 15 and April 15. The 2030 Notes are unconditionally guaranteed on a senior basis by each of our existing and future domestic restricted subsidiaries which are borrowers under or guarantors of our Amended Credit Facility.
We may redeem some or all of the 2030 Notes at anytime, at our option, prior to October 15, 2025, at a price equal to 100% of the principal amount plus a “make-whole” premium. We may redeem some or all of the 2030 Notes, at our option, in whole or in part, at any time on or after October 15, 2025 for 102.063%, on or after October 15, 2026 for 101.375%, on or after October 15, 2027 for 100.688% and on or after October 15, 2028 for 100.0%, plus accrued and unpaid interest.
The holders of the 2030 Notes have the right to require us to repurchase all or a portion of the 2030 Notes at a purchase price equal to 101.0% of the principal amount of the notes repurchased, plus accrued and unpaid interest upon the occurrence of a change of control.
The 2030 Notes contain customary high yield covenants, including covenants limiting debt incurrence and restricted payments, subject to certain baskets and exceptions. We were in compliance with all financial covenants as of September 30, 2023.
$300 Million, 5.125% Senior Notes due 2028
On December 14, 2017, we issued $300 million aggregate principal amount of 5.125% senior notes due February 2028 (the "2028 Notes"). We used the net proceeds from the offering to finance acquisitions and for general corporate purposes.
We incurred approximately $4.8 million of debt issuance costs in conjunction with this transaction, which included underwriter fees and legal, accounting and rating agency expenses. The debt issuance costs are being amortized over the term of the 2028 Notes.
The 2028 Notes require semiannual interest payments on February 1 and August 1. The 2028 Notes are unconditionally guaranteed on a senior basis by our existing and future domestic restricted subsidiaries who are borrowers under or guarantors of our Amended Credit Facility.
We may redeem some or all of the 2028 Notes, at our option, at any time on or after January 1, 2023 for 102.563%, on or after January 1, 2024 for 101.708%, on or after January 1, 2025 for 100.854% and on or after January 1, 2026 for 100%, plus accrued and unpaid interest.
The holders of the 2028 Notes have the right to require us to repurchase all or a portion of the 2028 Notes at a purchase price equal to 101% of the principal amount of the notes repurchased, plus accrued and unpaid interest upon the occurrence of a change of control.
The 2028 Notes contain customary high-yield covenants, including covenants limiting debt incurrence and restricted payments, subject to certain baskets and exceptions. We were in compliance with all covenants as of September 30, 2023.
Asset-Based Loan Facility Amendment
On December 16, 2021, we entered into a Third Amended and Restated Credit Agreement (“Amended Credit Agreement”). The Amended Credit Agreement amended and restated the previous credit agreement dated September 27, 2019 (the "Predecessor Credit Agreement"), and provides for a $750 million principal amount senior secured asset-based revolving credit facility, with up to an additional $400 million principal amount available with the consent of the Lenders, as defined, if we exercise the uncommitted accordion feature set forth therein (collectively, the “Amended Credit Facility”). The Amended Credit Facility matures on December 16, 2026. We may borrow, repay and reborrow amounts under the Amended Credit Facility until its maturity date, at which time all amounts outstanding under the Amended Credit Facility must be repaid in full.
The Amended Credit Facility is subject to a borrowing base that is calculated using a formula based upon eligible receivables and inventory, and at our election, eligible real property, minus certain reserves. Proceeds of the Amended Credit Facility will be used for general corporate purposes. Net availability under the Amended Credit Facility was approximately $493 million as of September 30, 2023. The Amended Credit Facility includes a $50 million sublimit for the issuance of standby letters of credit and a $75 million sublimit for Swing Loan borrowings. As of September 30, 2023, there were no borrowings outstanding and no letters of credit outstanding under the Amended Credit Facility. Outside of the Amended Credit Facility, there were other standby and commercial letters of credit of $1.3 million outstanding as of September 30, 2023.
Borrowings under the Amended Credit Facility will bear interest at an index based on SOFR (which will not be less than 0.00%) or, at our option, the Base Rate, plus, in either case, an applicable margin based on our usage under the credit facility. Base Rate is defined as the
highest of (a) the Truist prime rate, (b) the Federal Funds Rate plus 0.50%, (c) one-month SOFR plus 1.00% and (d) 0.00%. The applicable margin for SOFR-based borrowings fluctuates between1.00%-1.50%, and was 1.0% as of September 30, 2023, and the applicable margin for Base Rate borrowings fluctuates between 0.00%-0.50%, and was 0.00% as of September 30, 2023. An unused line fee shall be payable quarterly in respect of the total amount of the unutilized Lenders’ commitments under the Amended Credit Facility. Standby letter of credit fees accruing at the applicable margin on the average undrawn and unreimbursed amounts of standby letters of credit are payable quarterly, and a facing fee of 0.125% is payable quarterly for the stated amount of each letter of credit. We are also required to pay certain fees to the administrative agent under the Amended Credit Facility. The Amended Credit Facility was amended on May 15, 2023 to transition from LIBOR to SOFR. As of September 30, 2023, the applicable interest rate related to Base Rate borrowings was 8.5%, and the applicable interest rate related to one-month SOFR-based borrowings was 6.3%.
We incurred approximately $2.4 million of debt issuance costs in conjunction with the Amended Credit Agreement, which included lender fees and legal expenses. The debt issuance costs are being amortized over the term of the Amended Credit Facility.
The Amended Credit Facility continues to contain customary covenants, including financial covenants which require us to maintain a minimum fixed charge coverage ratio of 1:1 upon triggered quarterly testing (e.g. when availability falls below certain thresholds established in the agreement), reporting requirements and events of default. The Amended Credit Facility is secured by substantially all assets of the borrowing parties, including (i) pledges of 100% of the stock or other equity interest of each domestic subsidiary that is directly owned by such entity and (ii) 65% of the stock or other equity interest of each foreign subsidiary that is directly owned by such entity, in each case subject to customary exceptions. We were in compliance with all financial covenants under the Amended Credit Facility as of September 30, 2023.
Summarized Financial Information for Guarantors and the Issuer of Guaranteed Securities
Central (the "Parent/Issuer") issued $400 million of 2031 Notes in April 2021, $500 million of 2030 Notes in October 2020, and $300 million of 2028 Notes in December 2017. The 2031 Notes, 2030 Notes and 2028 Notes are fully and unconditionally guaranteed on a joint and several senior basis by each of our existing and future domestic restricted subsidiaries (the "Guarantors") which are guarantors of our senior secured revolving credit facility ("Credit Facility"). The 2031 Notes, 2030 Notes and 2028 Notes are unsecured senior obligations and are subordinated to all of our existing and future secured debt, including our Amended Credit Facility, to the extent of the value of the collateral securing such indebtedness. There are no significant restrictions on the ability of the Guarantors to make distributions to the Parent/Issuer. Certain subsidiaries and operating divisions of the Company do not guarantee the 2031, 2030 or 2028 Notes and are referred to as the Non-Guarantors.
The Guarantors jointly and severally, and fully and unconditionally, guarantee the payment of the principal and premium, if any, and interest on the 2031, 2030 and 2028 Notes when due, whether at stated maturity of the 2031, 2030 and 2028 Notes, by acceleration, call for redemption or otherwise, and all other obligations of the Company to the holders of the 2031, 2030 and 2028 Notes and to the trustee under the indenture governing the 2031, 2030 and 2028 Notes (the "Guarantee"). The Guarantees are senior unsecured obligations of each Guarantor and are of equal rank with all other existing and future senior indebtedness of the Guarantors.
The obligations of each Guarantor under its Guarantee shall be limited to the maximum amount, after giving effect to all other contingent and fixed liabilities of such Guarantor and to any collections from or payments made by or on behalf of any other Guarantor in respect of the obligations of such Guarantor under the guarantee not constituting a fraudulent conveyance or fraudulent transfer under Federal or state law.
The Guarantee of a Guarantor will be released:
(1) upon any sale or other disposition of all or substantially all of the assets of that Guarantor (including by way of merger or consolidation), in accordance with the governing indentures, to any person other than the Company;
(2) if such Guarantor merges with and into the Company, with the Company surviving such merger;
(3) if such Guarantor is designated as an Unrestricted Subsidiary; or
(4) if the Company exercises its legal defeasance option or covenant defeasance option or the discharge of the Company's obligations under the indentures in accordance with the terms of the indentures.
The following tables present summarized financial information of the Parent/Issuer subsidiaries and the Guarantor subsidiaries. All intercompany balances and transactions between subsidiaries under Parent/Issuer and subsidiaries under the Guarantor have been eliminated. The information presented below excludes eliminations necessary to arrive at the information on a consolidated basis. In presenting the summarized financial statements, the equity method of accounting has been applied to the Parent/Issuer's interests in the Guarantor Subsidiaries. The summarized information excludes financial information of the Non-Guarantors, including earnings from and investments in these entities.
Summarized Statements of Operations
(in thousands) Fiscal Year Ended Fiscal Year Ended
September 30, 2023 September 24, 2022
(in thousands)
Parent/Issuer Guarantors Parent/Issuer Guarantors
Net sales $ 768,207 $ 2,531,503 $ 819,213 $ 2,198,460
Gross profit $ 166,370 $ 767,480 $ 183,090 $ 709,635
Income (loss) from operations $ (32,001) $ 244,164 $ (12,305) $ 243,293
Equity in earnings of Guarantor subsidiaries $ 191,793 $ - $ 189,228 $ -
Net income (loss) $ (63,840) $ 191,793 $ (53,968) $ 189,228
Summarized Balance Sheet Information
(in thousands) As of As of
September 30, 2023 September 24, 2022
(in thousands)
Parent/Issuer Guarantors Parent/Issuer Guarantors
Current assets $ 661,660 $ 999,218 $ 455,381 $ 904,090
Intercompany receivable from Non-guarantor subsidiaries 69,404 - 309,238 61,794
Other assets 3,402,000 2,762,797 3,124,526 2,458,823
Total assets $ 4,133,064 $ 3,762,015 $ 3,889,145 $ 3,424,707
Current liabilities $ 155,793 $ 294,686 $ 162,793 $ 267,872
Intercompany payable from Non-guarantor subsidiaries - 766
Long-term debt 1,187,771 186 1,185,891 -
Other liabilities 1,308,736 60,611 1,450,702 220,990
Total liabilities $ 2,652,300 $ 356,249 $ 2,799,386 $ 488,862
Contractual Obligations
The table below presents our significant contractual cash obligations by fiscal year:
Contractual Obligations Fiscal
2024 Fiscal
2025 Fiscal
2026 Fiscal
2027 Fiscal
2028 Thereafter Total
(in millions)
Long-term debt, including current maturities (1) $ 0.2 $ 0.2 $ 0.1 $ - $ - $ 1,200.0 $ 1,200.5
Interest payment obligations (2) 52.5 52.5 52.5 52.5 52.5 92.8 355.3
Operating leases 54.9 47.1 33.0 22.8 14.7 34.8 207.3
Purchase commitments (3) 138.9 36.4 21.4 13.0 5.9 2.4 218.0
Performance-based payments (4) - - - - - - -
Total $ 246.5 $ 136.2 $ 107.0 $ 88.3 $ 73.1 $ 1,330.0 $ 1,981.1
(1)Excludes $1.3 million of outstanding letters of credit related to normal business transactions. Debt repayments do not reflect the unamortized portion of deferred financing costs associated with the 2028 Notes, 2030 Notes and 2031 Notes of approximately $12.2 million as of September 30, 2023, of which $2.0 million is amortizable until February 2028, $5.6 million is amortizable until October 2030 and $4.6 million is amortizable until April 2031, and is included in the carrying value of the long-term debt. See Note 11 - Long-Term Debt to the consolidated financial statements for further discussion of long-term debt.
(2)Estimated interest payments to be made on our 2028 Notes, our 2030 Notes and our 2031 Notes. See Note 11 - Long-Term Debt to the consolidated financial statements for description of interest rate terms.
(3)Contracts for purchases of grains, grass seed and pet food ingredients, used primarily to mitigate risk associated with increases in market prices and commodity availability, may obligate us to make future purchases based on estimated yields. The terms of these contracts vary; some having fixed prices or quantities, others having variable pricing and quantities. For certain agreements, management estimates are used to develop the quantities and pricing for anticipated purchases, and future purchases could vary significantly from such estimates.
(4)Possible performance-based payments associated with prior acquisitions of businesses are not included in the above table, because they are based on future performance of the businesses acquired, which is not yet known. Performance-based payments of approximately $0.1 million were made in fiscal 2023 related to Hydro-Organics Wholesale, Inc. Potential performance-based periods extend through fiscal 2025 for Hydro-Organics Wholesale, Inc. and the payments are capped at $1.0 million per year.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
Refer to the discussion under Part II, Item 8, Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Note 1 - Organization and Significant Accounting Policies for a summary of recent accounting pronouncements.
Critical Accounting Policies, Estimates and Judgments
Our discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations is based upon our consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. The preparation of these financial statements requires us to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts and related disclosures in the consolidated financial statements. Estimates and assumptions are required for, but are not limited to, accounts receivable and inventory realizable values, fixed asset lives, long-lived asset valuation and impairments, intangible asset lives, stock-based compensation, deferred and current income taxes, self-insurance accruals and the impact of contingencies and litigation. We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances, the result of which forms the basis for making judgments about the carrying value of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from those estimates under different assumptions or conditions.
Although not all inclusive, we believe that the following represent the more critical accounting policies, which are subject to estimates and assumptions used in the preparation of our consolidated financial statements.
Goodwill
Goodwill represents the excess of cost of an acquired business over the fair value of the identifiable tangible and intangible assets acquired and liabilities assumed in a business combination. Identifiable intangible assets acquired in business combinations are recorded based on their fair values at the date of acquisition. Goodwill and identifiable intangible assets with indefinite lives are not subject to amortization but must be evaluated for impairment.
We test goodwill for impairment annually (as of the first day of the fourth fiscal quarter), or whenever events occur or circumstances change that would more likely than not reduce the fair value of a reporting unit below its carrying amount, by first assessing qualitative factors to determine whether it is more likely than not the fair value of the reporting unit is less than its carrying amount. The qualitative assessment evaluates factors including macro-economic conditions, industry-specific and company-specific considerations, legal and regulatory environments and historical performance. If it is determined that it is more likely than not the fair value of the reporting unit is greater than its carrying amount, it is unnecessary to perform the quantitative goodwill impairment test. If it is determined that it is more likely than not that the fair value of the reporting unit is less than its carrying amount, the quantitative test is performed to identify potential goodwill impairment. Based on certain circumstances, we may elect to bypass the qualitative assessment and proceed directly to performing the quantitative goodwill impairment test, which compares the estimated fair value of our reporting units to their related carrying values, including goodwill. Impairment is indicated if the estimated fair value of the reporting unit is less than its carrying value, and an impairment charge is recognized for the differential. Our goodwill impairment analysis also includes a comparison of the aggregate estimated fair value of our two reporting units to the Company’s total market capitalization.
Determining the fair value of a reporting unit involves the use of significant estimates and assumptions. The estimate of fair value of each of our reporting units is based on our projection of revenues, gross margin, operating costs and cash flows considering historical and estimated future results, general economic and market conditions as well as the impact of planned business and operational strategies. We base our fair value estimates on assumptions we believe to be reasonable at the time, but such assumptions are subject to inherent uncertainty. Assumptions critical to our fair value estimates were: (i) discount rates used in determining the fair value of the reporting units; (ii) estimated future cash flows; and (iii) projected revenue and operating profit growth rates used in the reporting unit models. Actual results may differ from those estimates. The valuations employ present value techniques to measure fair value and consider market factors.
Our goodwill is associated with our Pet segment and our Garden segment. In connection with our annual goodwill impairment testing performed during fiscal 2023, we elected to bypass the qualitative assessment and proceeded directly to performing the quantitative goodwill
impairment test. We completed our quantitative assessment of potential goodwill and determined that it was more likely than not the fair values of our reporting units were greater than their carrying amounts.
In connection with our annual goodwill impairment testing performed during fiscal 2022, we made a qualitative evaluation about the likelihood of goodwill impairment to determine whether it was necessary to calculate the estimated fair values of our reporting units under the quantitative goodwill impairment test. We completed our qualitative assessment of potential goodwill impairment and it was determined that it was more likely than not the fair values of our reporting units were greater than their carrying amounts, and accordingly, no quantitative testing of goodwill was required.
Changes in the judgments and estimates underlying our analysis of goodwill for possible impairment, including expected future cash flows and discount rates, could result in a significantly different estimate of the fair value of the reporting units in the future and could result in additional impairment of goodwill.
Intangible assets
Indefinite-lived intangible assets consist primarily of acquired trade names and trademarks. Indefinite-lived intangible assets are tested annually for impairment or whenever events or changes in circumstances occur indicating that the carrying amount of the asset may not be recoverable. An impairment loss would be recognized for an intangible asset with an indefinite useful life if its carrying value exceeds its fair value.
Indefinite-lived intangible assets are primarily tested for impairment by comparing the fair value of the asset to the carrying value. Fair value is determined based on discounted cash flow analyses that include significant management assumptions such as revenue growth rates, discount rates, weighted average cost of capital, and assumed royalty rates. Future net sales and short-term growth rates are estimated for trade names based on management’s forecasted financial results which consider key business drivers such as specific revenue growth initiatives, market share changes and general economic factors such as consumer spending.
During fiscal 2023, 2022 and 2021, we performed evaluations of the fair value of our indefinite-lived trade names and trademarks. Our expected revenues were based on our future operating plan and market growth or decline estimates for future years. We recognized impairment losses on certain intangible assets of $11.5 million in fiscal year 2023, and there were no impairment losses recorded in fiscal years 2021 and 2022.
Acquisitions
In connection with businesses we acquire, management must determine the fair values of assets acquired and liabilities assumed. Considerable judgment and estimates are required to determine such amounts, particularly as they relate to identifiable intangible assets, and the applicable useful lives related thereto. Under different assumptions, the resulting valuations could be materially different, which could materially impact the operating results we report.
Our contractual commitments are presented under the caption Liquidity and Capital Resources.

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ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosure About Market Risk
We are exposed to market risks, which include changes in U.S. interest rates and commodity prices and, to a lesser extent, foreign exchange rates. We do not engage in financial transactions for trading or speculative purposes.
Interest Rate Risk. The interest payable on our Amended Credit Facility is based on variable interest rates and therefore affected by changes in market interest rates. We had no variable rate debt outstanding as of September 30, 2023 under our Amended Credit Facility. However, if our Amended Credit Facility were fully drawn and interest rates changed by 25 basis points compared to actual rates, interest expense would have increased or decreased by approximately $1.9 million. In addition, we have investments consisting of cash equivalents and short-term investments, which are also affected by changes in market interest rates.
Commodity Prices. We are exposed to fluctuations in market prices for grains, grass seed, chemicals, fertilizer ingredients and pet food ingredients. To mitigate risk associated with increases in market prices and commodity availability, we enter into contracts for purchases, primarily to ensure commodity availability to us in the future. As of September 30, 2023, we had entered into fixed purchase commitments for commodities totaling approximately $218.0 million. A 10% change in the market price for these commodities would have resulted in an additional pretax gain or loss of $21.8 million as the related inventory containing those inputs is sold.
Foreign Currency Risks. Our market risk associated with foreign currency rates is not considered to be material. To date, we have had minimal sales outside of the United States. Purchases made by our U.S. subsidiaries from foreign vendors are primarily made in U.S. dollars. Our international subsidiary transacts most of its business in British pounds and Canadian dollars. Therefore, we have only minimal exposure to foreign currency exchange risk. We do not hedge against foreign currency risks and believe that foreign currency exchange risk is immaterial to our current business.

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ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA
Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data
See pages beginning at.

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ITEM 9. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS
Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements With Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure
None.

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ITEM 9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
Item 9A. Controls and Procedures
(a) Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures. Our Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer have reviewed, as of the end of the period covered by this report, the “disclosure controls and procedures” (as defined in the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) that ensure that information relating to the Company required to be disclosed by us in the reports that we file or submit under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported in a timely and proper manner and that such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. Based upon this review, such officers concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective as a result of two material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting, described below, as of September 30, 2023.
In connection with the preparation of the financial statements for this Annual Report on Form 10-K, we identified deficiencies in the design and operating effectiveness of controls in our internal control over financial reporting as of September 30, 2023. Management determined these identified deficiencies represented material weaknesses related to (1) certain information technology general computer controls ("ITGC’s") at our Live Plants and Green Garden businesses and (2) controls related to an outsourced service provider that supports certain of the Company’s revenue processes for our Live Plants business and were found to not be operating effectively. As a result, certain of the Company’s related business controls that are dependent upon the affected ITGC’s and lack of controls around outsourced IT service provider data were also deemed ineffective. A “material weakness” is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement in annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. The material weaknesses did not result in any identified misstatements to our consolidated financial statements or changes to previously disclosed financial results.
Management is in the process of establishing a remediation plan and expects its remediation efforts will involve implementing additional controls to ensure that access and program change management controls are designed and operating effectively and that we have effective controls relating to outsourced IT service providers and the data they provide.
(b) Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting. Our management, with the participation of our Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer, has evaluated whether any change in our internal control over financial reporting occurred during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023. Based on that evaluation, management concluded that other than initial remediation efforts of the material weaknesses identified above, there has been no change in our internal control over financial reporting during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023 that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
(c) Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting. A copy of our management’s report and the report of Deloitte & Touche LLP, our independent registered public accounting firm, are included in our Financial Statements and Supplementary Data beginning on page.

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ITEM 9B. OTHER INFORMATION
Item 9B. Other Information
During the quarter ended September 30, 2023, none of our directors or officers informed us of the adoption, modification or termination of a "Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangement" or "non-Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangement," as those terms are defined in Regulation S-K, Item 408.

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ITEM 10. DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance
We have adopted a code of ethics that applies to all of our executive officers and directors, a copy of which is available on our website at www.central.com/about-us/what-we-stand-for.
The remaining information required by this item is incorporated by reference from Central’s Definitive Proxy Statement for its 2024 Annual Meeting of Shareholders under the captions “Election of Directors,” “Further Information Concerning the Board of Directors - Committees of the Board”, “Delinquent Section 16(a) Reports” and “Code of Ethics.” See also Item 1 - Business above.

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ITEM 11. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
Item 11. Executive Compensation
The information required by this item is incorporated by reference from Central’s Definitive Proxy Statement for its 2024 Annual Meeting of Shareholders under the captions “Executive Compensation” and “Further Information Concerning the Board of Directors - Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation.”

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ITEM 12. SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS
Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters
The information required by this item is incorporated by reference from Central’s Definitive Proxy Statement for its 2024 Annual Meeting of Shareholders under the captions “Stock Ownership of Management and Principal Shareholders” and "Executive Compensation - Equity Compensation Plan Information.”

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ITEM 13. CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS
Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence
The information required by this item is incorporated by reference from Central’s Definitive Proxy Statement for its 2024 Annual Meeting of Shareholders under the captions “Further Information Concerning the Board of Directors - Board Independence” and “Transactions with the Company.”

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ITEM 14. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING FEES AND SERVICES
Item 14. Principal Accountant Fees and Services
The information required by this item is incorporated by reference from Central’s Definitive Proxy Statement for its 2024 Annual Meeting of Shareholders under the caption “Ratification of Selection of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm.”
PART IV

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ITEM 15. EXHIBITS, FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES
Item 15. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules
(a)The following documents are filed as part of this report:
(i)Consolidated Financial Statements of Central Garden & Pet Company are attached to this Form 10-K beginning on page:
Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
Consolidated Balance Sheets
Consolidated Statements of Operations
Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss)
Consolidated Statements of Shareholders’ Equity
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
All other schedules are omitted because of the absence of conditions under which they are required or because the required information is included in the consolidated financial statements or notes thereto.
(2)Exhibits:
Set forth below is a list of exhibits that are being filed or incorporated by reference into this Form 10-K:
Incorporated by Reference
Exhibit
Number Exhibit Form File
No. Exhibit Filing
Date Filed
Herewith Furnished, Not Filed
2.1
Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated December 30, 2020, between Central Garden & Pet Company and Flora Parent, Inc.
8-K 001-33268 2.1 2/17/2021
2.2
Amendment No. 1, dated April 27, 2021, to Agreement and Plan of Merger between Central Garden & Pet Company and Flora Parent, Inc.
10-Q 001-33268 2.1 8/5/2021
2.3
Amendment No. 2, dated June 17, 2021, to Agreement and Plan of Merger between Central Garden & Pet Company and Flora Parent, Inc.
10-Q 001-33268 2.2 8/5/2021
2.4
Amendment No. 3, dated June 23, 2021, to Agreement and Plan of Merger between Central Garden & Pet Company and Flora Parent, Inc.
10-Q 001-33268 2.3 8/5/2021
3.1
Fourth Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation
10-K 001-33268 3.1 12/14/2006
3.2
Amended and Restated By-laws of Central Garden & Pet Company, dated as of March 31, 2022
8-K 001-33268 3.1 4/1/2022
4.1
Specimen Common Stock Certificate
10-K 001-33268 4.1 11/29/2017
4.2
Specimen Class A Common Stock Certificate
10-K 001-33268 4.2 11/29/2017
4.3
Indenture, dated as of March 8, 2010, by and between the Company and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, as trustee
8-K 001-33268 4.2 3/8/2010
4.4
Seventh Supplemental Indenture, dated as of December 24, 2017, by and among the Company, certain guarantors named therein and Wells Fargo Bank National Association, as t0rustee, relating to the 5.125% Senior Notes due 2028
8-K 001-33268 4.1 12/14/2017
4.5.
Ninth Supplemental Indenture, dated as of March 30, 2019, by and among the Company, certain guarantors named therein and Wells Fargo Bank National Association, as trustee, relating to the 6.125% Senior Notes due 2023 and the 5.125% Senior Note due 2028
10-Q 001-33268 4.1 5/7/2019
4.6
Tenth Supplemental Indenture, dated as of June 29, 2019, by and among the Company, certain guarantors named therein and Wells Fargo Bank National Association, as trustee, relating to the 6.125% Senior Notes due 2023 and the 5.125% Senior Notes due 2028
10-Q 001-33268 4.1 8/2/2019
4.7
Eleventh Supplemental Indenture, dated as of October 16, 2020, by and among the Company, certain guarantors named therein and Wells Fargo Bank National Association, as trustee, relating to the 4.125% Senior Notes due 2030
8-K 001-33268 4.1 10/16/2020
Incorporated by Reference
Exhibit
Number Exhibit Form File
No. Exhibit Filing
Date Filed
Herewith Furnished, Not Filed
4.8
Twelfth Supplemental Indenture, dated as of March 10, 2021 by P&M Solutions, LLC, the Company, the other Guarantors and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association as trustee.
10-Q 001-33268 4.1 5/6/20213
4.9
Thirteenth Supplemental Indenture, dated effective as of April 9, 2021 by (i) Flora Parent, Inc., (ii) Seed Holdings, Inc., (iii) Plantation Products, LLC, (iv) Ferry-Morse Seed Company, (v) Livingston Seed Company, (vi) MARTEAL LTD, (vii) A.E. MCKENZIE CO. ULC, the Company, the other Guarantors and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, as trustee.
10-Q 001-33268 4.2 5/6/20213
4.10
Fourteenth Supplemental Indenture, dated as of March 3, 2023, by and among the Company, certain guarantors named therein and Computershare Trust Company, N.A., as successor to Wells Fargo Bank National Association, as trustee, relating to the 5.125% Senior Notes due 2028 and the 4.125% Senior Notes due 2030.
10-Q 001-33268 4.1 05/04/2023
4.11
Indenture, dated as of April 30, 2021, by and among the Company, certain guarantors named therein and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, as trustee, relating to the 4.125% Senior Notes due 2031.
8-K 001-33268 4.1 04/30/2021
4.12
First Supplemental Indenture, dated as of March 3, 2023 among the Company, certain guarantors named therein and Computershare Trust Company, N.A., as successor to Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, as trustee, paying agent and registrar under such indenture, relating to the 4.125% Senior Notes due 2031.
10-Q 001-33268 4.2 05/04/2023
4.13
Description of the Registrants Securities Registered Pursuant to Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
10-K 001-33268 4.12 11/27/2019
10.1
Form of Indemnification Agreement between the Company and Executive Officers and Directors
10-K 001-33268 10.1 11/29/2017
10.2
Third Amended and Restated Credit Agreement dated December 16, 2021 among the Company, certain of the Company's subsidiaries as guarantors, a syndicate of financial institutions party thereto, Truist Bank, as issuing bank and administrative agent, Bank of America, N.A., Keybank National Association, U.S. Bank National Association and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association as Co-Syndication Agents. Bank of the West, Capital One National Association, J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. and MUFG Bank LTD., as Co-Documentation Agents, Truist Securities, Inc., Bank of America N.A., Keybanc Capital Markets, Inc., U.S. Bank National Association and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association as Joint Lead Arrangers and Joint Bookrunners.
8-K 001-33268 10.1 12/21/2021
10.3
First Amendment to Third Amended and Restated Credit Agreement dated May 15, 2023, among the Company, each of the other Borrowers and Guarantors party hereto, the Lenders party hereto, and Truist Bank, as the Administrative Agent and Annex A to First Amendment to Third Amended and Restated Credit Agreement dated December 16, 2021, among the Company, certain of the Company's subsidiaries as guarantors, a syndicate of financial institutions party thereto, Truist Bank, as Issuing Bank and Administrative Agent, Bank of America, N.A., Keybank National Association, U.S. Bank National Association and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association as Co-Syndication Agents, Bank of the West, Capital One, National Association, JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., and MUFG Bank, LTD., as Co-Documentation Agents, Truist Securities, Inc., Bank of America, N.A., Keybanc Capital Markets, Inc., U.S. Bank National Association and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association as Joint Lead Arrangers and Joint Bookrunners.
10-Q 001-33268 10.1 8/3/2023
10.4*
2003 Omnibus Equity Incentive Plan, as amended and restated effective February 13, 2012.
8-K 001-33268 10.2 2/15/2012
Incorporated by Reference
Exhibit
Number Exhibit Form File
No. Exhibit Filing
Date Filed
Herewith Furnished, Not Filed
10.5*
Form of Nonstatutory Stock Option Agreement for 2003 Omnibus Equity Incentive Plan
10-K 000-20242 10.5.1 12/9/2004
10.6*
Form of Restricted Stock Agreement for 2003 Omnibus Equity Incentive Plan
10-K 000-20242 10.5.2 12/9/2004
10.7*
Form of Performance-Based Non-Statutory Stock Option Agreement for 2003 Omnibus Equity Incentive Plan
10-K 001-33268 10.4.3 11/19/2010
10.8*
Form of Central Garden & Pet Company 2003 Omnibus Equity Incentive Plan Performance Unit Agreement
8-K 001-33268 10.1 2/9/2022
10.9*
Nonemployee Director Equity Incentive Plan, as amended and restated effective October 7, 2020
10-K 001-33268 10.7 11/24/2020
10.10*
Form of Nonstatutory Stock Option Agreement for Nonemployee Director Equity Incentive Plan
10-Q 000-20242 10.6.1 2/3/2005
10.11*
Form of Restricted Stock Agreement for Nonemployee Director Equity Incentive Plan
10-Q 000-20242 10.6.2 2/3/2005
10.21*
Form of Agreement to Protect Confidential Information, Intellectual Property and Business Relationships
8-K 000-20242 10.1 10/14/2005
10.22*
Form of Post-Termination Consulting Agreement
8-K 000-20242 10.2 10/14/2005
List of Subsidiaries
X
List of Guarantor Subsidiaries
X
Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
X
31.1
Certification of Principal Executive Officer Pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a)
X
31.2
Certification of Principal Financial Officer Pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a)
X
32.1
Certification of Principal Executive Officer Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350
X
32.2
Certification of Principal Financial Officer Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350
X
101 The following financial statements from the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended September 30, 2023, formatted in Inline XBRL: (i) Consolidated Balance Sheet, (ii) Consolidated Statements of Operations, (iii) Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income, (iv) Consolidated Statements of Equity, (v) Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows, and (vi) Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, tagged as block text and including detailed tags. X
104 Cover Page Interactive Data File - the cover page iXBRL tags are embedded within the Inline XBRL document.
* Management contract or compensatory plan or arrangement