<p style="text-indent:0px; line-height:12px;"><span style="font-weight:bold;line-height:130%">Houston, TX</span><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">By ANUK Staff<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">5.7.13</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>Sysco has reported fiscal results for the third-quarter, marked by a 22% decrease in net earnings. The company pointed to sluggish economic conditions and reluctant consumers as influential factors.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Net earnings fell from $260 million to $201 million for the quarter, while operating income decreased by 23.2% from $439 million in last year's period to $337 million.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Diluted earnings per share (EPS) took a hit as well. EPS fell 22.7% from $0.44 to $0.34. After adjusting for certain items, which mainly related to a multi-employer pension plan (MEPP) withdrawal, adjusted1 diluted EPS was $0.40. After further adjusting for business transformation expenses, to reflect the performance of the company's underlying business, adjusted diluted EPS was $0.49, compared to $0.50 in the prior year period.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Sales for the quarter rose 4% from $10.5 billion to $10.9 billion, compared to 2012’s third quarter.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">"Our financial results reflect in part the difficult market conditions we experienced in our underlying business during the third quarter. Sales and operating earnings were negatively impacted by economic and weather related headwinds which dampened consumers' willingness to spend on meals away from home," said Bill DeLaney, President and Chief Executive Officer.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href="http://www.sysco.com/" target="_new">Sysco </a></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">
