Shares in United Natural Foods (UNFI) were up 3.8% today (30 November) after the company posted an increase in first-quarter sales but a drop in profits.

Shares in the company increased 3.8% to $36.65 at 09:30 EST. The US distributor of natural, organic and speciality foods reported net income of US$15.2m for the three months ended 29 October, down 12.9% on last year.

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Operating income for the quarter was down 12.1% to $26.1m. However, net sales reached $1.22bn, up 15.6% on the same period last year. The company said it expects to see a strong performance during the Christmas period.

Steven Spinner, UNFI’s president and CEO said: “Sales growth in the first quarter of fiscal 2012 was robust as we geared up for what we believe should be a strong holiday season. We also successfully rolled out service to our newest national customer while maintaining high service levels to our broad customer base.

“Looking forward, we’ll have an enhanced focus toward driving efficiencies and expense control as we continue to adapt to higher growth in lower margin customers,” he added.

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