US regional retailer Ingles Markets saw its sales growth quicken in the third quarter of its financial year.

The company, which runs over 200 supermarkets, said grocery segment comparable-store sales increased 2.1% in the quarter to 23 June. Over the first nine months of its financial year, comparable-store sales were up 1.8%.

Third-quarter net sales increased 0.7% to $917.8m, a slowdown on earlier parts of the year. Ingles said its nine-month sales were up 2.4% at $2.72bn.

The retailer, which is based in North Carolina, reported third-quarter net income of $13.1m, up from $12.7m a year earlier. Nine-month net income was $30.2m, compared to $28.1m a year ago.