Central Garden & Pet Announces Fourth Quarter and Full Year Results for Fiscal 2007.

WALNUT CREEK, Calif. -- Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENT)(NASDAQ:CENTA) today announced fourth quarter and full year results for its fiscal year ended September 29, 2007.

For the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007, the Company reported net sales of $401 million, a decline of $20 million or 5% from $421 million in the comparable 2006 period. Income from operations for the quarter decreased 53% to $10.1 million from $21.4 million in the year ago period. The net loss for the quarter was $1.7 million, or $0.02 per fully diluted share, compared to net income of $6.0 million, or $0.08 per fully diluted share, in the year ago period. Depreciation and amortization for the quarter was $8.8 million compared to $5.3 million in the year ago period. Branded product sales decreased 2% to $342 million. Sales of other manufacturers' products declined 16% or $11.3 million to $59.5 million.

Net sales for the Garden Products segment were $180 million, a decrease of $4 million or 2% compared to the fourth quarter of fiscal 2006. Garden branded products sales increased approximately $3 million or 2% while sales of other manufacturers' products, as anticipated, declined 23%. The Garden Products segment operating income was $2.8 million in the quarter, a decrease of $1.4 million, or 34% when compared to the fourth quarter of fiscal 2006. Net sales for the Pet Products segment were $221 million, a decrease of $16 million or 7% compared to the fourth quarter of fiscal 2006. Pet branded products sales decreased $11 million or 6% and sales of other manufacturers' products decreased 11%. Operating income for the Pet Products segment was $17.3 million in the quarter, a decrease of $13.9 million, or 45%, when compared to the fourth quarter of fiscal 2006.

Net sales for fiscal year 2007 were $1.67 billion, an increase of 3% from $1.62 billion in fiscal 2006. Operating income decreased 27% to $99.4 million compared to last year. Net income for the year decreased 51% to $32.3 million from $65.5 million in the prior year. Diluted earnings per share was $0.45, a 53% decrease compared to the prior year. Depreciation and amortization for the year was $30.7 million compared to $24.0 million in the prior year. Branded product sales increased 6% to $1.40 billion. Sales of other manufacturers' products, as anticipated, declined 9% to $270.3 million. Organic sales declined 1% for the year.

"With 2007 behind us, we are looking to fiscal 2008 to reset and create a stronger and more agile company," noted William Brown, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Central Garden & Pet Company. "Some of our operations are not performing well. We have significant work to do."

The Company will discuss its fourth quarter and full year fiscal 2007 results on a conference call today at 4:30 p.m. EST. The earnings conference call will be broadcast over the Internet through Central's website, www.central.com, or you may link directly to the webcast at http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=93879&p=irol-calendar. To listen to the call by telephone, please dial 1-888-680-0879 and passcode 3227 3384 (domestic) or 617-213-4856 and passcode 3227 3384 (international). You may bypass the operator and go directly to the teleconference by pre-registering, at any time before the call, through the link below which will provide you with a unique PIN number. At the time of the call, after dialing the number and passcode mentioned above, enter your PIN for immediate access to the teleconference.

https://www.theconferencingservice.com/prereg/key.process?key=PAXD 9GGKY (Due to its length, this URL may need to be copied/pasted into your Internet browser's address field. Remove the extra space if one exists.)

Central Garden & Pet Company is a leading innovator, marketer and producer of quality branded products for the lawn & garden and pet supplies markets. Committed to new product innovation, our products are sold to specialty independent and mass retailers in the following categories: Lawn & Garden: Grass seed including the brands PENNINGTON[R] and THE REBELS[TM]; wild bird feed and the brands PENNINGTON[R] and KAYTEE[R]; weed and insect control and the brands AMDRO[R], SEVIN[R], IRONITE[R] and OVER 'N OUT[TM] and; decorative outdoor patio products and the brands NORCAL[R], NEW ENGLAND POTTERY[R], GKI/BETHLEHEM LIGHTING[R] and MATTHEWS FOUR SEASONS[TM]. We also provide a host of other regional and application-specific garden brands and supplies. Pet categories include: Animal health and the brands ADAMS[TM] and ZODIAC[R]; aquatics and reptile and the brands OCEANIC[R], AQUEON[TM] and ZILLA[TM]; bird & small animal and the brands KAYTEE[R], SUPER PET[R] and CRITTER TRAIL[R]; dog & cat and the brands TFH[TM] / NYLABONE[R], FOUR PAWS[R], PINNACLE[R] and AVO-DERM[R] and; equine and the brands FARNAM[R], BRONCO[R] and SUPER MASK[R]. We also provide a host of other application-specific pet brands and supplies. Central Garden & Pet Company is based in Walnut Creek, California, and has approximately 5,000 employees, primarily in North America and Europe. For additional information on Central Garden & Pet Company, including access to the Company's SEC filings, please visit the Company's website at http://www.central.com/.

"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: The statements contained in this release which are not historical facts, including future earnings guidance, are forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in or implied by forward-looking statements. These risks are described in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K and other Securities and Exchange Commission filings. Central undertakes no obligation to publicly update these forward-looking statements to reflect new information, subsequent events or otherwise.

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