KANSAS CITY — Net income of American Italian Pasta Co. in the year ended Oct. 2 was $88,288,000, equal to $4.27 per share on the common stock, up 365% from $19,111,000, or 99c per share, in fiscal 2009. Net sales were $628,162,000, up 10%.

Expressing pride in the company’s financial results, Jack Kelly, AIPC president and chief executive officer, said, "Our ability to grow our market share while simultaneously making significant improvements in our key indicators of financial strength, such as gross profit margin, net income, operating cash flow, net debt and EBITDA, is a reflection that our strategic decision to pursue long term profitable growth by focusing on customer brands and on our strongest proprietary brands was the right decision."
The 10% growth in sales reflected a 17% jump in retail sales, offset partly by an 8% drop in institutional sales. Volume was up 6% overall.

In the fourth quarter, revenues were down 8%, reflecting lower selling prices. Volume in the quarter was up 4.5% for retail, but institutional volume was down 6%.

Gross margins in fiscal 2009 were 28.1%, versus 21.5% in fiscal 2008.

In the fourth quarter, AIPC net income was $15.8 million, or 73c per share (diluted), up 116% from $7.3 million, or 36c per share. Net sales were $149.1 million, down 8%.