KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AFX) - American Italian Pasta Co. said Tuesday total revenues declined about 7 percent during the 2005 fiscal year, the company's first disclosure of sales figures in more than a year.
The Kansas City-based maker of Mueller's, Mrs. Grass, Pennsylvania Dutch and Anthony's pasta -- among other labels -- said most of the drop was in institutional brands. Overall sales volume declined by 9.1 percent.
That holds with the company's previously announced strategy to exit low-margin lines of business.
For the year ended Sept. 30, the company said overall sales were $388.7 million, versus $417.4 million in 2004.
Retail sales dropped 4.2 percent during the year and volume was off 3.6 percent. Institutional revenues decreased 14 percent and volume was down 19 percent.
American Italian Pasta hasn't filed financial reports since May 2005, and in October it pulled quarterly and annual reports going back to 2002 because of questionable accounting. The company's audit committee is conducting an internal investigation and said it won't issue updated numbers until that investigation is done.
On Tuesday, the company said it had total debt of $267.6 million and liquidity of $36 million.
It also said it had received an offer to sell its Eddie's and Mrs. Leeper's pasta brands for $900,000, which would require an impairment charge of $4.3 million, and had signed a nonbinding letter to sell a manufacturing plant in Kenosha, Wis., for net cash of $6 million, requiring impairment charges of $22.5 million.
Shares of American Italian Pasta gained 84 cents, or 11.7 percent, to close at $8.01 in trading Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange.
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