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Sales were $1.1 billion, up from $981 million in the previous year, powered by growth in the company's specialty-foods business. Profit rose to $89 million from $38 million last year.
The news sent the company's shares up nearly 10 percent.
"The consumer is definitely eating at home more," said Chairman and CEO John B. Gerlach Jr. in a conference call with analysts.
For the past two years, Columbus-based Lancaster has been selling off its nonfood businesses and focusing on products such as salad dressings, veggie dips and frozen breads. The only nonfood products left at the company are candles and glassware.
"The stars aligned for them," said Mitchell Pinheiro, an analyst with Janney Montgomery Scott, a financial-services firm in Philadelphia. He said the company's performance in the fiscal fourth quarter exceeded his already-high expectations.
In the quarter, sales were $253 million, up from $237 million in the same quarter last year. Profit was $28 million, compared with a loss of $3 million.
Profit surged because of a decrease in raw-material costs at the same time that the company raised prices for its finished products.
Although food sales grew in the retail sector, Lancaster noted a decrease in sales to the restaurant industry.
Glassware and candles, a small share of the company's business, generated a narrow profit in the quarter and a loss in the year.
Gerlach said he is optimistic about the current fiscal year "despite the challenges of a weaker and less-settled economy."
Company shares closed at $49.75, up $4.50, or 9.9 percent.
dgearino@dispatch.com
Lancaster's brands
Lancaster Colony still makes glassware and candles but has focused lately on its food products. Its retail food brands include:
--Cardini's salad dressings and croutons
--Marzetti salad dressings, slaw dressing and sauces
--Chatham Village croutons
--Jack Daniel's mustards
--Romanoff caviar
--New York frozen garlic bread and Texas Garlic Toast
--Reames egg noodles
Source: Lancaster Colony
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