Improved Expense Control and Working Capital Management Off-Set Sales and Gross Margin Decline

Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENT)(NASDAQ:CENTA) today announced results for its first quarter ended December 27, 2008.

“In a challenging environment, we made progress managing working capital and controlling costs,” noted William Brown, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Central Garden & Pet Company. “In the quarter, we reduced our investment in working capital by $48 million compared to last year. We lowered selling, general and administrative expenses by $8 million and were able to reduce our loss per fully diluted share in the quarter to 9 cents compared to 11 cents a year ago, after excluding the goodwill and other asset impairment charges, and the gain on sale of properties, and litigation settlement proceeds in the prior year period. However, there remains considerable room for improvement in order to recoup lost margin and ultimately drive ‘on profile’ performance.”

The Company reported net sales of $293 million in the quarter, a decline of seven percent compared to $314 million in the comparable fiscal 2008 period. The Company reported an operating loss of $2.7 million, compared to a loss of $391 million in the year ago period. Net interest expense was $6.6 million compared to $11.2 million a year ago. The net loss for the quarter was $6.2 million, or $0.09 per fully diluted share compared to a net loss of $290 million or $4.07 per fully diluted share in the year ago period. Branded products sales decreased seven percent to $242 million. Sales of other manufacturers’ products declined four percent to $50 million. Depreciation and amortization was $7.5 million compared to $8.0 million in the year ago period. The quarter-ending leverage ratio was 3.7x.

Results for the fiscal 2008 first quarter included a non-cash, pre-tax charge of $400 million related to the impairment of goodwill and other intangibles assets. The results also included a pre-tax gain of $11.1 million related to the sale of properties and legal settlement proceeds. Excluding the impairment of goodwill and other intangible assets and the gain on sale of properties and legal settlement, the net loss was $0.11 per fully diluted share in the year ago period.

Net sales for the Garden Products segment were $107 million, a decrease of five percent from $112 million in the comparable fiscal 2008 period. The Garden Products operating loss was $7.8 million compared to a loss of $206 million in the year ago period. Included in the results for the year ago period was an impairment charge of $202 million and a $4.6 million gain related to the sale of property. Branded products sales declined $3 million to $95 million. Sales of other manufacturers’ products declined $2 million to $12 million. Net sales for the Pet Products segment were $186 million, a decrease of eight percent versus the comparable fiscal 2008 period. Operating income for the Pet Products segment was $12.9 million, compared to a loss of $181 million in the year ago period. Included in the results for the year ago period was an impairment charge of $198 million and a $1.5 million gain related to the sale of property. Branded products sales were $148 million, a decrease of $16 million compared to last year. Sales of other manufacturers’ products were $38 million, unchanged compared to last year.

The Company will discuss its first quarter results on a conference call today at 4:30 p.m. EST / 1:30 p.m. PST. Individuals may access the call by dialing 888-680-0878 and passcode 1763 2663 (domestic) or 617-213-4855 and passcode 1763 2663 (international). The conference call will be simultaneously broadcast over the Internet through Central’s website, http://www.central.com/ or you may link directly to the webcast on our website at http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=93879&p=irol-calendar. To listen to the webcast, please log on to the website prior to the scheduled call time to register and download any necessary audio software.

In order to simplify your registration process, you may pre-register at the following link: https://www.theconferencingservice.com/prereg/key.process?key=PFAYFA87Q. By pre-registering, you may bypass the operator and go directly to the teleconference with a unique PIN number as soon as the call begins. At the time of the call, after dialing the number and passcode mentioned above, enter your PIN for immediate access to the teleconference.

Re-play dial-in numbers for the call will be available for three weeks: 888-286-8010 and passcode 5282 6065 (domestic) and 617-801-6888and passcode 5282 6065 (international).

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. Participating categories in Lawn & Garden include: Grass seed including the brands PENNINGTON®, SMART SEED^TM and THE REBELS™; wild bird feed and the brands PENNINGTON® and KAYTEE®; weed and insect control and the brands AMDRO®, SEVIN®, IRONITE® and Over ‘N Out®; and decorative outdoor patio products and the brands NORCAL®, NEW ENGLAND POTTERY® and MATTHEWS FOUR SEASONS™. We also provide a host of other regional and application-specific garden brands and supplies. Participating categories in Pet include: Animal health and the brands ADAMS™ and ZODIAC®; aquatics and reptile and the brands OCEANIC®, AQUEON™ and ZILLA™; bird & small animal and the brands KAYTEE®, SUPER PET® and CRITTER TRAIL®; dog & cat and the brands TFH™, NYLABONE®, FOUR PAWS®, PINNACLE® and Avoderm®; and equine and the brands FARNAM®, BRONCO® and SUPER MASK®. 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 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 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, filed November 26, 2008, 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.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This press release includes adjustments to GAAP net loss and selling, general and administrative expenses for the fiscal quarter ended December 29, 2007. Adjusted net loss and adjusted selling, general and administrative expenses, which exclude the impact of goodwill and other asset impairment charges and gains from the sale of properties and a legal settlement, are non-GAAP financial measures. We believe they are useful as supplemental measures in evaluating the aggregate performance of our operating business. These measures are used by our management, including our chief operating decision maker, to perform such evaluation. We exclude goodwill and other intangible asset impairment charges and gains from the sale of properties and a legal settlement as such items are not representative of the on-going results of operations of our business. Below is a reconciliation of these non-GAAP measures to net loss and selling, general, and administrative expenses for the quarter ended December 29, 2007.

Central Garden & Pet
Paul Warburg, 925-948-3686