Excluding the impact of the $5.5 million charge for non-recurring acquisition costs and the extraordinary item, diluted earnings per common share was $1.73, and net income as a percentage of net revenue was 10.1% versus 11.0% in the prior year.

Fiscal Year ended September 30, 2000 compared to Fiscal Year ended September 30, 199
Revenues
Revenues increased $28.6 million, or 13.0%, to $248.8 million for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2000, from $220.1 million for the fiscal year ended September 30, 1999. The revenue increase was primarily due to volume growth of 17.7% over the prior year, offset by lower average selling prices. The pass-through of lower durum wheat costs, along with changes in sales mix, created a 3.7% reduction in average selling prices.
Revenues for the Retail market increased $17.6 million, or 11.0%, to $177.8 million for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2000, from $160.2 million for the fiscal year ended September 30, 1999. The increase primarily reflects volume growth of 12.2% over the prior year, offset by lower average selling prices. Revenues for the current year were affected by the restructuring of several private label programs, which lowered revenues and promotional expenses versus the prior year.
Revenues for the Institutional market increased $11.0 million, or 18.4%, to $71.0 million for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2000, from $60.0 million for the fiscal year ended September 30, 1999. This increase was

primarily a result of volume growth of 28.4% over the prior year, offset by lower average selling prices. The pass-through of lower durum wheat costs, along with changes in sales mix, generated by rapid growth of ingredient volumes, created a 7.8% reduction in average selling prices.

Gross Profit
Gross profit increased $10.4 million, or 17.5%, to $70.0 million for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2000, from $59.6 million for the fiscal year ended September 30, 1999. Gross profit increased generally as a result of the volume and revenue gains referenced above. Gross profit as a percentage of revenues increased to 28.1% for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2000 from 27.1% for the fiscal year ended September 30, 1999. The increase in gross profit as a percentage of revenues relates to lower raw material costs and lower operating costs per unit.

Selling and Marketing Expense
Selling and marketing expense increased $1.2 million, or 8.1%, to $16.1 million for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2000, from $14.9 million reported for the fiscal year ended September 30, 1999. Selling and marketing expense as a percentage of revenues decreased to 6.5% for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2000, from 6.8% for the comparable prior period. As discussed above, certain promotional expenses were lower in the fiscal year 2000 period due to the modification of several private label customer programs.