Bridgford Foods Reports Profit for Quarter Up 13% to $1.25 Million

Bridgford Foods Corp., a maker of microwaveable cheeseburgers and other convenience foods, said Wednesday that profit for its latest quarter rose 13%.

The company reported earnings of $1.25 million, or 13 cents a share, for its third fiscal quarter, which ended July 31. That compared to a profit of $1.1 million, 12 cents a share, for the same period a year earlier.

Sales rose 6% to $23.6 million from $22.1 million during the quarter.

For the first three quarters of the year, net income rose 16% to $3.7 million, or 39 cents a share, from $3.2 million, 34 cents a share. Sales rose 7% to $73.6 million from $69 million.

Bridgford makes or processes frozen bread dough, sandwiches, meats and other foods for consumers, restaurants and delicatessens.

The recession has put a dent in the company’s sales of fresh meat to restaurants and hotels hen those businesses began losing customers. While respectable, the company’s sales growth might have been twice as fast without the economic slump, said Robert E. Schulze, executive vice president. “We had hoped sales would have surged a lot more than 6% or 7%,” he said.

But sales of the company’s other foodstuffs remain fairly strong despite the recession, Schulze said, noting that the company has been able to fight for precious shelf space in supermarkets against much bigger competitors.

Bridgford Foods Corp.

Despite a prolonged recession and a loss of customers, Bridgford Foods Corp. reported increases in sales and profit for its latest quarter. Sales were up 6% to $23.6 million, while earnings rose 13% to $1.2 million.

Figures are in thousands except data per share.

3rd Qtr 3rd Qtr 9 Months 9 Months 1992 1991 1992 1991 Revenue $23,556 $22,130 $73,603 $ 68,911 Net income (loss) 1,246 1,099 3,692 3,152 Per share (loss) 0.13 0.12 0.39 0.34

Source: Bridgford Foods Corp.