ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Ingles Markets Inc. reported increased sales and net income for the three-month 2022 fiscal first quarter ended December 25.

“We were fortunate to have good sales and overall results for the quarter that includes Thanksgiving and Christmas,” said company chairman Robert Ingle II. “Despite supply chain disruptions from the Omicron variant, our associates did an excellent job of meeting customer needs under difficult circumstances.”

Net sales totaled $1.39 billion for the quarter, an increase of 16.9% over the $1.19 billion for the prior-year period. Gross profit totaled $350.5 million, or 25.2% of sales. Gross profit for last year’s first quarter was $314.2 million, or 26.4% of sales.

Operating and administrative expenses for quarter totaled $260.1 million, up from $238.2 million in the prior year period. Most of the increase was due to higher personnel costs that reflect a tight labor market, the company said. Interest expense totaled $5.4 million, down from $6.4 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2021. Total debt at the end of December 2021 was $586.1 million compared with $587.9 million at the end of December 2020.

Net income totaled $66.2 million the fiscal 2022 first quarter, up from $53.8 million for the prior year period. Basic and diluted earnings per share for Class A Common Stock were $3.57 and $3.48, respectively, for the quarter ended December 25, 2021, compared with $2.73 and $2.66, respectively, for the quarter ended December 26, 2020.

Capital expenditures for this year’s quarter totaled $21.3 million, down from $34.2 million in last year’s quarter.