PARSIPPANY, N.J. — Increased sales and reduced wheat and maple syrup costs contributed to a 44% increase in net income at B&G Foods, Inc. during the third quarter.

Net income for the quarter ended Oct. 3 was $4,161,000, equal to 11c per share on the common stock, which compared with income of $2,890,000, or 8c per share, during the same quarter of the previous year.

Net sales for the quarter were $123,871,000, up 6% from $116,515,000 during the same quarter of the previous year.

"As expected, our business continued to improve substantially over prior-year results in the third quarter as evidenced by the 22.7% EBITDA gain for the quarter," said David L. Wenner, president and chief executive officer. "We continued to improve our trade spending efficiency and increase net sales for certain key brands in our portfolio while also benefiting from reduced costs for wheat and maple syrup. We believe our brands are well positioned in the current economic environment."

For the nine months ended Oct. 3 the company had income of $16,103,000, or 44c per share, up 49% from $10,829,000, or 29c per share, during the same period of the previous year. For the nine months the company had sales of $365,408,000, up 4% from $352,041,000 during the same period of the previous year.