Growth in pet care

Spectrum Brands reported net sales of $677.0 million for the first quarter of FY 2026, representing a decline of 3.3 per cent compared to the same period last year; on an organic basis, i.e. adjusted for currency effects, this represents a decline of 6.0 per cent.

The company generated net income from continuing operations of $29.4 million, adjusted EBITDA of $62.6 million and an adjusted EBITDA margin of 9.2 per cent. Operating cash flow from continuing operations was $67.7 m, and adjusted free cash flow was $59.7 million, as also reported in the announcement. In addition, Spectrum Brands repurchased 0.6 million of its own shares for $36 million during the quarter and approved a new $300 million share repurchase programme, with net debt at 1.65 times adjusted EBITDA.

The company confirms its guidance for the full year 2026: flat to low single-digit revenue growth, low single-digit adjusted EBITDA growth and approximately per cent conversion of adjusted EBITDA to adjusted free cash flow.

Spectrum Brands highlights in its announcement that Global Pet Care returned to growth in the quarter. The segment generated net sales of $281.6 million, up 8.3 per cent year-on-year; organically, this corresponds to growth of 5.8 per cent. Within GPC, sales in the Companion Animal segment grew in the high single-digit percentage range, while the Aquatics business grew in the low double-digit percentage range. In the EMEA region, organic sales in Companion Animal declined, which the company attributes in particular to the timing of orders in the dog and cat food segment following a product launch in the previous year, while Aquatics grew organically in EMEA. Spectrum Brands explicitly attributes this growth in Aquatics to the strength of the Tetra brand and a weaker comparative quarter; thus directly anchoring Tetra’s importance for the positive development of the pet business in the company report.

Adjusted EBITDA for Global Pet Care was $49.0 million, down from $51.5 million in the previous year, with the margin declining from 19.8 per cent to 17.4 per cent. Spectrum Brands cites higher tariffs, inflation and additional trading and investment expenses as the reasons for this, which were only partially offset by higher volumes, prices and efficiency measures.