Selling, General, and Administrative Expense
Selling, general, and administrative expense was $28.3 million for the fiscal quarter ended September 28, 2024, compared to $23.4 million for the fiscal quarter ended September 30, 2023. The $4.9 million, or 20.9%, increase in selling, general, and administrative expense was primarily driven by increased spending on sales and marketing to further strengthen our position ahead of a market turnaround, performance-based compensation and the acquisition of Coverstar Central, partially offset by a $0.4 million decrease in non-cash stock-based compensation expense.
Amortization
Amortization was $7.0 million for the fiscal quarter ended September 28, 2024, compared to $6.6 million for the fiscal quarter ended September 30, 2023. The $0.4 million, or 5.2%, increase in amortization was driven by the acquisition of Coverstar Central.
Interest Expense, net
Interest expense, net was $9.2 million for the fiscal quarter ended September 28, 2024, compared to $6.0 million for the fiscal quarter ended September 30, 2023. The $3.2 million, or 53.1%, increase in interest expense, net was primarily the result of the change in the fair value of our interest rate swap, compared to the fiscal quarter ended September 30, 2023.
Other (Income) Expense, Net
Other income, net was $ (0.7) million for the fiscal quarter ended September 28, 2024, compared to other expense, net of $1.0 million for fiscal quarter ended September 30, 2023. The $1.7 million increase in other income, net was primarily driven by a favorable change in net foreign currency transaction gains and losses associated with our international subsidiaries.
Earnings from Equity Method Investment
Earnings from our equity method investment in Premier Pools & Spa were $0.9 million for the fiscal quarter ended September 28, 2024, compared to $1.8 million for the fiscal quarter ended September 30, 2023, due to the financial performance of Premier Pools & Spa.
Income Tax (Benefit) Expense
Income tax benefit was less than $(0.1) million for the fiscal quarter ended September 28, 2024, compared to income tax expense of $6.7 million for the fiscal quarter ended September 30, 2023. Our effective tax rate was (0.7)% for the fiscal quarter ended September 28, 2024, compared to 52.1% for the fiscal quarter ended September 30, 2023. The difference between the U.S. federal statutory income tax rate and our effective income tax rate for both the fiscal quarters ended September 28, 2024 and September 30, 2023 was primarily attributable to the impacts of stock-based compensation expense and foreign income.
Net Income
Net income was $5.9 million for the fiscal quarter ended September 28, 2024, compared to $6.2 million for the fiscal quarter ended September 30, 2023. The $0.3 million, or 4.2%, decrease in net income was primarily because of the factors described above.
Net Income Margin
Net income margin was 3.9% for the fiscal quarter ended September 28, 2024, compared to 3.8% for the fiscal quarter ended September 30, 2023. The 0.1% increase in net income margin was driven by the factors described above.
Adjusted EBITDA
Adjusted EBITDA was $29.8 million for the fiscal quarter ended September 28, 2024, compared to $36.1 million for the fiscal quarter ended September 30, 2023. The $6.3 million, or 17.3%, decrease in Adjusted EBITDA was primarily because of the decrease in cost of sales and an increase in selling, general and administrative expenses, partially offset by the decrease in net sales, as well as the other factors described above.