date:May 17, 2013
erly sales were $1,130,810,000, up 26% from $898,206,000.
Gross margin as a percentage of sales in the quarter was 48.2%, up 150 basis points from 46.7% in the first quarter of 2012. Flowers said the increase was due primarily to higher sales volumes and decreased workforce-related costs as a per cent of sales.
Breaking down the 26% sales increase, Flowers said the acquisitions of Lepage Bakeries and Sara Lee/California accounted for 7.7 points, which helped offset unfavorable net/price mix o