* PETCO Animal Supplies Scheduled to Speak at Merrill Lynch and Legg Mason Investor Conferences
March 23 2004 - 6:35AM
PR Newswire (US)
* PETCO Animal Supplies Scheduled to Speak at Merrill Lynch and
Legg Mason Investor Conferences * Company Provides Additional
Comment on Acquisition of 20 Former Kids "R" Us Sites Announced
Separately Today SAN DIEGO, March 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/-- PETCO
Animal Supplies, Inc. announced that Company executives will
participate today at the Merrill Lynch "Retailing Leaders" Investor
Conference and the Legg Mason 2004 Consumer Conference. The Company
also provided additional information regarding its separate
announcement today of the acquisition of 20 former Kids "R" Us
locations from Office Depot for approximately $45 million plus the
assumption of lease obligations on leased properties. (Logo:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20030603/PETCOLOGO) "The
acquisition of selected former Kids "R" Us locations is a unique
opportunity for PETCO to penetrate markets where the Company is
significantly underrepresented, particularly South Florida and
Ohio," said James Myers, Chief Executive Officer of PETCO. "Nearly
all of the sites involved are new locations for the Company, which
will increase our new store totals for 2004 to approximately 90
locations, or approximately 70 locations net of relocations and
store closings. While our long-term goal of 10% annual growth in
square footage provides for many years of sustainable quality
growth for PETCO, strategic opportunities such as this further
enable us to acquire great locations and bolster our presence in
key markets." PETCO anticipates modifying its remodel plan to 50-55
stores in 2004 to focus internal resources on capturing fully the
benefits of the new store locations. In 2004, the Company intends
to create 145-150 new Millennium- format stores, the same overall
number as previously envisioned. Mr. Myers and Rodney Carter,
Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, are scheduled to
present at the Merrill Lynch Conference at approximately 12:40 PM
Eastern Daylight Savings Time today. In addition, Bruce Hall,
President and Chief Operating Officer, is scheduled to participate
at the Legg Mason Conference. A web cast, or a replay, of the
Merrill Lynch conference presentation will be available via the
Company's website at http://www.petco.com/. At these conferences,
the executives plan to state that the Company continues to expect
to achieve a comparable store net sales increase in the range of
5.0% to 6.0% for the first quarter of 2004, as well as for the full
year. The Company continues to expect first quarter earnings per
diluted share in the range of $0.24 -- $0.25. The acquisition of
the former Kids "R" Us locations is expected to close in the second
quarter of 2004. As the transaction nears closing and due diligence
is completed, PETCO will provide further details regarding the
overall transaction. The Company currently anticipates the
acquisition will be accretive to earnings in future years,
beginning in 2005, by approximately $0.02 per diluted share; for
the full year 2004, the transaction is expected to be slightly
dilutive to earnings -- by up to $0.03 per diluted share -- with
the primary effect of store opening and acquisition related
expenses seen in the second and third quarters of 2004. The
Company's overall capital outlay for the newly acquired stores will
be limited, as the portion of the portfolio of stores not being
leased will be converted to traditional operating lease structures
utilizing a simultaneous sale-leaseback financing. About PETCO
Animal Supplies PETCO is a leading specialty retailer of premium
pet food, supplies and services. PETCO's vision is to best promote,
through its people, the highest level of well-being for companion
animals, and to support the human-animal bond. PETCO generated net
sales of $1.65 billionin fiscal 2003. It operates 654 stores in 43
states and the District of Columbia, as well as a leading
destination for on-line pet food and supplies at
http://www.petco.com/. Since its inception in 1999, The PETCO
Foundation, PETCO's non-profit organization, has raised more than
$15 million in support of more than 1,900 non-profit grassroots
animal welfare organizations around the nation. Certain statements
in this news release that are not historical fact constitute
"forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Stockholders and other
readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these
forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements involve
known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may
cause the actual results of PETCO to be materially different from
historical results or from any results expressed or implied by such
forward-looking statements. These factors, such as performance of
new stores,ability to execute expansion strategy and sustain
growth, debt levels, reliance on vendors and exclusive distribution
arrangements, competition, integration of operations as a result of
acquisitions, compliance with various state and local regulations
and dependence on senior management, are discussed from time to
time in the reports filed by PETCO with the Securities and Exchange
Commission, including the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal
year ended February 1, 2003. For more information, please contact
Rodney Carter, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of
PETCO Animal Supplies, Inc., +1-858-202-7848.
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20030603/PETCOLOGO
http://photoarchive.ap.org/ DATASOURCE: PETCO Animal Supplies, Inc.
CONTACT: Rodney Carter, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial
Officer of PETCO Animal Supplies, Inc., +1-858-202-7848 Web site:
http://www.petco.com/
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