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Due to the Bell Nursery acquisition occurring in the middle and most profitable part of the fiscal year, fiscal 2018 earnings benefit from the exclusion of two quarters where Bell Nursery typically is not profitable. If the full year of Bell Nursery were included in the Company's 2018 fiscal year results, it is estimated that while Bell would still be accretive, the Company's EPS would be $0.10 lower than the expected $1.90 or higher guidance. Consequently, it is expected that next year's earnings will have less accretion from Bell Nursery due to the inclusion of a full year of Bell Nursery's results.

Reports Q3 revenue $657.9M, consensus $605.61M. Total Company organic growth, facing a difficult comparison with last year's third quarter organic growth of 7.6%, was essentially flat, down 0.1%. Reduced demand in the organic Garden business, impacted by unfavorable weather early in the quarter and a significant year-over-year shift in selling weeks during the third quarter, adversely impacted results, more than offsetting the strong organic growth in the Pet segment. Branded product sales of $516.8 million increased 11.8%, and sales of other manufacturers' products of $141.1 million rose 25.5%, impacted by the acquisition of General Pet, the Company's new distribution business. Gross margin of 30.7% declined 120 basis points compared to the third quarter a year ago, due primarily to the lower organic volumes in the Company's Garden segment, as well as an unfavorable shift in the mix of sales, and higher raw material, freight, and labor costs across the Company.