HERSHEY, PA. — Higher prices and strong Halloween sales helped contribute to a 9% increase in income for The Hershey Co. during the third quarter.

For the quarter ended Oct. 2, the company had income of $196,695,000, equal to 86c per share on the common stock, which compared with $180,169,000,000, or 78c per share, during the same quarter of the previous year. Sales for the quarter were $1,624,249,000, up 5% from $1,547,115,000 during the same quarter of the previous year.

“Hershey’s third-quarter financial and U.S. marketplace results were solid as our core brands continue to perform well in all retail channels,” said John P. Bilbrey, president and chief executive officer. “Results were slightly better than our expectations as both U.S. chocolate and non-chocolate candy categories continue to grow greater than the historical average despite macroeconomic challenges. We continue to leverage our intellectual insights and proprietary tools to drive overall category growth that benefits both Hershey and our retail partners.

“In the third quarter, Hershey’s net sales increased 5%. Net price realization, primarily in the U.S., was a 5.4 point benefit. Seasonal volume gains, driven by Halloween, were better than our initial expectations. New products, primarily Reese’s Minis and Hershey’s Drops, continue to perform well in the marketplace. Offsetting these gains were volume declines, in line with our modeling, due to price elasticity, resulting in an overall volume decline in the third quarter of about 1 point.”

For the nine months ended Oct. 2, the company had income of $486,829,000, or $2.12 per share, up 30% from $374,286,000, or $1.63 per share, during the same period of the previous year. Sales for the nine months were $4,513,643,000, up 8% from $4,188,200,000 during the same period of the previous year.