Sysco has reported their second quarter fiscal results. Sales for the 13-week period topped out at $9.4 billion, a 5.8% increase from the same quarter last year. Total sales for Sysco's first half of fiscal 2011 are $19.1 billion, a 6.6% increase compared to the same period last year. Operating income fell 5.5% to $437 million. Food cost inflation has played a large role in the increased sales numbers, driven by double digit levels of inflation in the meat, dairy and seafood categories. Sysco President and CEO, Bill DeLaney, stated that "Accelerating and significant food cost inflation negatively impacted our customers' purchasing budgets, contributed to increased margin pressure and meaningfully increased our selling expense." The company is focusing on improving its business plan for the second half of the fiscal year.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">
