Covetrus Inc. of Portland reported a net loss for the third quarter despite a double-digit revenue increase that exceeded analyst expectations.

The company, which provides veterinary technology, products and services, reported a net loss of $35 million, or 33 cents per share, for the quarter, compared with a net loss of $959 million a year earlier. The most recent quarterly net loss fell short of analyst expectations by 27 cents per share, according to the investor website Seeking Alpha.

However, Covetrus’ third-quarter revenue of $1.13 billion was 11 percent higher than in the third quarter of 2019 and exceeded analyst expectations by $80 million.

The company cited challenges related to the coronavirus pandemic when explaining the quarterly net loss.

“Around the globe, the Covetrus team continues to rise to the challenge and, despite the adversity created by COVID-19, we successfully executed and delivered strong results during the third quarter,” company President and CEO Ben Wolin said in a statement. “It is clear that our focused approach, commitment to our team and our customers, and our investment in service and innovation have served us well and enabled us to win new business and drive greater alignment with our partners. We are making strategic investments to support our momentum and are confident in our ability to drive growth in 2021 and beyond.”

Covetrus was created from a merger between Portland’s Vets First Choice and a spinoff of the animal health division of New York company Henry Schein Inc. in February 2019.

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The company has made a notable recovery from its difficult first year of operations, which included sizable net lossesan investor lawsuit and a $938 million goodwill impairment charge recorded last fall in an attempt to square the company’s value on paper with its then-reality.

Covetrus responded to those challenges by replacing much of its upper management and divesting business units that did not serve its core business model.

The company’s stock, which trades on the Nasdaq exchange under the symbol CVET, fell from a high of about $43 at launch to as low as $4 in March, but it has since recovered considerably to $26.01 as of market close on Tuesday. Tuesday’s closing price was down about 2.3 percent from Monday’s closing price of $26.63.

The company received approval in 2018 to build a five-story world headquarters in Portland with space for 1,500 employees. Construction is behind schedule but ongoing, Wolin has said.


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