General and Administrative Expense
General and administrative expense increased $3.0 million, or 48.1%, to $9.3 million for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2001, from $6.3 million reported for the comparable period last year. General and administrative expense as a percentage of revenues increased to 3.0% from 2.5%. The majority of the increase relates to personnel and intangible amortization costs associated with the Mueller’s acquisition.

Provision for Acquisition Expenses
The provision for acquisition expenses of $5.5 million for the year consisted of unusual incremental costs associated with the Mueller’s brand acquisition ($1.8 million) and the acquisition of the seven brands from Borden Foods ($3.7 million).

Operating Profit
Operating profit for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2001, was $51.0 million, an increase of 7.1% over the $47.7 million reported for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2000. Operating profit decreased as a percentage of revenues to 16.4% for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2001, from 19.1% for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2000, as a result of the factors discussed above. Excluding the $5.5 million charge for unusual incremental acquisition expenses, operating profit was $56.6 million, an $8.9 million or 18.7% increase over that reported in the prior year. Operating profit as a percentage of net revenues, excluding the non-recurring charge, was 18.2% versus 19.1% in the prior year.

Interest Expense
Interest expense for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2001, was $8.5 million, increasing 77.7% from the $4.8 million reported for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2000. The increase related to borrowings associated with the branded product line acquisitions, our stock repurchase program, and capital expenditures. These increases were partially offset by cash flow from operations.

Income Tax
Income tax for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2001, was $14.7 million, decreasing $.7 million from the $15.4 million reported for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2000, and reflects effective income tax rates of approximately 34.5% and 36.0%, respectively.

Extraordinary Item
During the year ended September 30, 2001, we incurred a $1.5 million (net of tax) extraordinary loss in conjunction with the July 2001 extinguishment of our previous line of credit following our completion of a new $300 million credit agreement. There was no such item in the prior year.

Net Income
Net income for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2001, was $26.3 million, decreasing from the $27.5 million reported for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2000. Excluding the impact of the $5.5 million charge for unusual incremental acquisition costs, net income for the year totaled $30.0 million, an increase of $2.5 million or 9.1% over the prior year. Net income per common share-assuming dilution was $1.45 in fiscal 2001 compared to $1.50 per share for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2000.