Lancaster Colony has booked a drop in net income for the first nine months of the year, despite rising sales.

In the nine months to the end of March, the US consumer goods group said that net income dropped to US$77m, down from $92.2m last year.

The fall came despite higher net sales, which rose from $809m to $834m, the company said.

In its third-quarter earnings update, Lancaster said that profitability had been dented by significantly higher input costs. The group added that retail food sales in the third quarter had been dented by the late Easter.

Looking to the remainder of the year, chairman and CEO John Gerlach said today (28 April) that the fourth quarter should see a sales lift as a consequence of higher Easter spending and new product launches.

“Net sales and margins should also reflect recently implemented pricing actions, which we anticipate should mitigate the impact of higher food commodity costs,” he added.

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