Lancaster Colony Reports 4Q Profit As Sales Rise

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Specialty foods supplier Lancaster Colony Corp. on Thursday said it moved to a profit in the fourth quarter as sales of specialty foods and candles rose.

Shares of the company surged on the news, gaining $4.31, or 9.6 percent, to $49.57 in afternoon trading. Earlier in the session the stock climbed 10.5 percent to a new 12-month peak of $49.98.

The Columbus, Ohio-based company earned $28.4 million, or $1.01 per share, in the three months that ended in June. That compares with a loss of $2.6 million, or 9 cents per share, a year earlier.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had expected 77 cents per share in profit.

Revenue rose 7 percent to $253.4 million from $236.7 million.

For the full year, Lancaster said its profit more than doubled to $89.1 million, or $3.18 per share, from $37.6 million, or $1.28 per share, in 2008.

Annual revenue rose 7 percent to $1.05 billion.