Nov. 5--Strong consumer demand helped Scotts Miracle-Gro Co. cut its loss in the fourth quarter compared with the year-ago period, the company said today. For the full year, the company turned its finances around and posted a $153 million profit compared with a nearly $11 million loss.

The Marysville-based company lost $14.9 million, or 23 cents a share in the fourth quarter, compared with a loss of $34.7 million, or 54 cents a share, the same time a year ago. The loss for the quarter was in line with analysts estimates. Revenue rose to $583.4 million compared with $544.2 million in the year-ago period.

Chairman and CEO Jim Hagedorn attributed the change to the "the strength of our brands with our consumers and our retail partners."

"The strength of our core consumer business continued all the way through to the end of the fiscal year," he said in a statement. "We believe our late season investment in marketing, along with continued support from our retail partners, helped to drive the sale of fall products.

"Continued growth of our fall season products will be a key to our long-term success."

For the year, Scotts earned $153.3 million or $2.32 cents per share. That compares to a loss this time last year of $10.9 million, or 17 cents per share. The company called its sales for the fiscal year a record at $3.14 billion compared with $2.98 billion for the past fiscal year.

tturner@dispatch.com

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