An analysis of the company's financial history in the LA Times earlier this month reported that VCA's earnings plummeted to $50.7 million in 2012, it's fourth consecutive year of decline after peaking at $137 million in 2008.
"If our pets are sick, we'll spend the money," said Robert L. Antin, the company's co-founder and CEO. "If they're well and it's a bad economic time, they may say, 'we don't need to see the vet.' So the economy has hurt us, just like it's hurt everybody else."
VCA Antech has grown through a series of acquisitions, helping to boost revenue even as visits to existing hospitals fell. The pet hospital firm nearly doubled in size from 2006 to 2012.
Antin told the LA Times the company's acquisitions have left it well-postioned to thrive as the economy recovers and pet owners' discretionary income increases. Reports show a slight increase in sales per hospital (those open for more than a year) for the past six quarters.
About VCA Antech
VCA Antech owns or manages more than 600 veterinary hospitals in the US and Canada, with more than 3,000 veterinarians on staff. It also owns a network of diagnostic laboratories and sells radiography and ultrasound imaging equipment to veterinarians.
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