Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Basis of Presentation

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Basis of Presentation
6 Months Ended
Mar. 29, 2014
Accounting Policies [Abstract]  
Basis of Presentation

1. Basis of Presentation

The condensed consolidated balance sheets of Central Garden & Pet Company and subsidiaries (the “Company” or “Central”) as of March 29, 2014 and March 30, 2013, the condensed consolidated statements of operations for the three months and six months ended March 29, 2014 and March 30, 2013, the condensed consolidated statements of comprehensive income for the three months and six months ended March 29, 2014 and March 30, 2013 and the condensed consolidated statements of cash flows for the six months ended March 29, 2014 and March 30, 2013 have been prepared by the Company, without audit. In the opinion of management, the interim financial statements include all normal recurring adjustments necessary for a fair statement of the results for the interim periods presented.

For the Company’s foreign business in the UK, the local currency is the functional currency. Assets and liabilities are translated using the exchange rate in effect at the balance sheet date. Income and expenses are translated at the average exchange rate for the period. Deferred taxes are not provided on translation gains and losses because the Company expects earnings of its foreign subsidiary to be permanently reinvested. Transaction gains and losses are included in results of operations. See Note 9, Supplemental Equity Information, for further detail.

Due to the seasonal nature of the Company’s garden business, the results of operations for the three and six month periods ended March 29, 2014 are not indicative of the operating results that may be expected for the entire fiscal year. These interim financial statements should be read in conjunction with the annual audited financial statements, accounting policies and financial notes thereto, included in the Company’s 2013 Annual Report on Form 10-K, which has previously been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The September 28, 2013 balance sheet presented herein was derived from the audited statements.

Noncontrolling Interest

Noncontrolling interest in the Company’s condensed consolidated financial statements represents the 20% interest not owned by Central in a consolidated subsidiary. Since the Company controls this subsidiary, its financial statements are consolidated with those of the Company, and the noncontrolling owner’s 20% share of the subsidiary’s net assets and results of operations is deducted and reported as noncontrolling interest on the consolidated balance sheets and as net income (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interest in the consolidated statements of operations. See Note 9, Supplemental Equity Information, for additional information.

Derivative Instruments

The Company principally uses a combination of purchase orders and various short and long-term supply arrangements in connection with the purchase of raw materials, including certain commodities. The Company also enters into commodity futures, options and swap contracts to reduce the volatility of price fluctuations of corn, which impacts the cost of raw materials. The Company’s primary objective when entering into these derivative contracts is to achieve greater certainty with regard to the future price of commodities purchased for use in its supply chain. These derivative contracts are entered into for periods consistent with the related underlying exposures and do not constitute positions independent of those exposures. The Company does not enter into derivative contracts for speculative purposes and does not use leveraged instruments.

The Company does not perform the assessments required to achieve hedge accounting for commodity derivative positions. Accordingly, the changes in the values of these derivatives are recorded currently in other income (expense) in its condensed consolidated statements of operations. See Note 4, Derivative Instruments, for additional information.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

Comprehensive Income

In February 2013, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2013-02, Comprehensive Income (Topic 220)—Reporting of Amounts Reclassified Out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (ASU 2013-02). This guidance requires entities to disclose, either in the notes to the consolidated financial statements or parenthetically on the face of the statement that reports comprehensive income (loss), items reclassified out of accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) and into net earnings in their entirety and the effect of the reclassification on each affected statement of operations line item. In addition, for accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) reclassification items that are not reclassified in their entirety into net earnings, a cross reference to other required accounting standard disclosures is required. This guidance became effective for the Company on September 29, 2013. This new guidance did not have a material impact on the Company’s condensed consolidated financial statements.