POMPANO BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- PetMed Express Inc., which runs the online pet pharmacy 1-800-PetMeds, said Monday that its net income declined 18 percent in the April to June quarter after a drop in online sales and fewer repeat orders from its customers.
Shares of the company plunged $1.36, or 12.1 percent, to $9.90 in morning trading.
PetMed said its profit and revenue decreased after both online and reorder sales for pets medicines decreased by 3 percent to $52.8 million and $55.1 million, respectively. The company also acquired fewer customers in the quarter —197,000, compared with 226,000 new customers in the same quarter last year.
The company said it earned $4 million, or 20 cents per share, in its fiscal first quarter, down from $4.8 million, or 22 cents per share, in the same period a year ago.
A 7-percent decrease in the number of outstanding shares from last year helped boost per-share results for the recent quarter.
Its revenue fell 6 percent, to $69 million, from $73.6 million last year.
Analysts, on average, had forecast a profit of 23 cents per share and $77.3 million revenue, according to FactSet.
Part of the reason for the decline was that Novartis brands were unavailable, because the manufacturer suspended their production of flea and tick products Interceptor and Sentinel. Customers also purchased smaller amounts in the quarter — a three-month supply in some cases instead of six months — despite discounts.
The company also said it had changed its offerings to lower priced items, which hurt sales. The average size of each order was $73, compared with $80 last year.
The one bright spot was that total orders increased, according to PetMed CEO Menderes Akdag.
PetMed stock has traded between $8.51 and $14.03 in the past 52 weeks.
