HOUSTON – Fiscal 2013 sales for Sysco Corporation were $44.4 billion, an increase of 4.8 percent from $42.4 billion in fiscal 2012. Sales for the fourth quarter of FY 2012 were $11.6 billion, an increase of 5.0 percent from $11.0 billion in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2012.

Operating income for the year was $1.7 billion, a decrease of 12.3 percent, compared to the prior year. Diluted earnings per share (EPS) was $1.67, which was 12.1 percent lower compared to $1.90 in the prior year. Meanwhile, fourth-quarter operating income was $460 million, a decrease of 10.8 percent, compared to $515 million in last year's fourth quarter. Diluted EPS were $0.47, which was 11.3 percent lower compared to $0.53 in last year's fourth quarter. Net earnings for the fourth quarter were $283 million, a decrease of $26 million, or 8.5 percent, compared to the prior year.

"Fiscal year 2013 was a year of transition for Sysco where we made good progress on our multi-year business transformation initiatives. With that said, our financial results announced this morning fell short of our expectations as weak restaurant traffic continued to challenge many of our customers," said Bill DeLaney, Sysco's president and chief executive officer. "While overall sales grew acceptably by about 5 percent for both the fourth quarter and full fiscal year and our cost per case metrics improved as the year progressed, we were unable to grow our gross profit at planned levels due in part to ongoing competitive pressures and a shift in customer mix.

“Looking forward to fiscal 2014, our earnings performance trends should gradually improve as we realize more of the benefits of our business transformation initiatives and further leverage the capabilities of both our strengthened senior management team and our 48,000 customer focused associates,” he concluded.