DOW JONES NEWSWIRES Sysco Corp.'s (SYY) fiscal third-quarter earnings rose 9.5% as North America's largest food-service products distributor reported its first quarter of year-to-year sales growth in a year and a half, with a boost from currency fluctuations. The profit beat analysts' expectations. Chief Executive Bill DeLaney said, "The underlying business environment appears to be improving, as evidenced by both the case volume growth and easing of deflation that we realized as the quarter progressed." Restaurants, which account for the majority of Sysco's sales, began seeing consumers return to family-dining chains and other outlets with lower priced fare late last year. Sysco's institutional customers include the health-care industry and schools. Sysco has been beefing up its sales force to take advantage of the improved demand trends and is also poised to grow through acquisitions of weaker rivals. For the quarter ended March 27, Sysco reported a profit of $247.6 million, or 42 cents a share, up from $226.2 million, or 38 cents a share, a year earlier. Sales increased 2.4% to $8.95 billion, with a 1.6-percentage-point boost from currency fluctuations and acquisitions providing an additional 0.6-point bump. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters most recently forecast earnings of 40 cents a share on sales of $8.95 billion. Gross margin edged up to 18.8% from 18.7%. Shares were up 2.6% t $32.35 in premarket trading. The stock is up 13% this year, more than the broader market. -By Tess Stynes, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2481; Tess.Stynes@dowjones.com
