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NEW YORK - Sara Lee Corp.'s branded apparel business leveraged an improved inventory position as well as expense controls to bolster operating income in its third quarter, even as sales fell.
Separately, the company said it was selling its U.K.-based Courtaulds apparel business for an undisclosed sum.
For the quarter ended April 1, the business segment, which is being spun off from Chicago-based Sara Lee between June and September as Hanesbrands Inc., posted operating income that rose 28 percent, to $110 million from $86 million in the same period last year. Sales for the quarter fell 3 percent, to $1.04 billion.
The branded apparel business includes T-shirts, casualwear,...