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For the quarter ended Feb. 28, the company posted income of $229.6 million, equal to 51c per share on the common stock, which compared with income of $193.2 million, or 43c per share, during the same quarter of the previous year. Sales for the quarter were $3,096.8 million, down slightly from $3,125 million during the same quarter of the previous year.
“We are pleased to report another good quarter where comparable e.p.s. growth was primarily driven by profit improvement from our Consumer Foods segment,” said Gary Rodkin, chief executive officer. “The continued momentum in our sales, innovation, marketing and cost-savings initiatives is generating the second-half results we expected. As we discussed in our recent presentation to the Consumer Analyst Group of New York, we are confident that our strong business foundation has positioned us for sustainable profitable growth.”
Operating profit for the Consumer Foods segment was $306.3 million, up 25% from $244.6 million during the same quarter of the previous year. Sales in the segment were $2,034.4 million, up 2% from $1,990.8 million during the same quarter of the previous year.
The Commercial Foods segment had an operating profit of $148.9 million, up 6% from $141.1 million during the same quarter of the previous year. The segment had sales of $1,062.4 million, down 6% from $1,134.2 million during the same quarter of the previous year.
For the nine months ended Feb. 28, overall income totaled $635.2 million, or $1.43 per share, down 21% from $803.7 million, or $1.77 per share, during the same period of the previous year. Sales during the nine months were $9,230.8 million, down 2% from $9,433.2 million during the same period of the previous year.
