DOWNERS GROVE, ILL. — For the third quarter ended March 28, Sara Lee Corp. had net income of $165 million, equal to 24c per share on the common stock, down 22% from $211 million, or 30c per share, during the same quarter of the previous year.

Sales for the quarter were $3,028 million, down 7% from $3,243 million during the same quarter of the previous year.

"We continue to achieve meaningful bottom-line growth and see positive trends in the face of a very difficult global economy," said Brenda C. Barnes, chairman and chief executive officer. "Of particular note, our North American retail and food service segments have improved adjusted operating segment income in the last four quarters and are well positioned for the full year. During the quarter we made numerous critical investments for long-term growth in the international beverage segment, which has achieved strong quarterly results and is expected to report another solid year."

For the North American Retail segment, operating income was $66 million in the third quarter, up 43% compared with $46 million during the same period of the previous year. Sales in the segment were $646 million, up 3% from $627 million in the same quarter of the previous year.

The North American Foodservice segment had operating income of $29 million, down 8% from $32 million during the same quarter of the previous year. Sales for the quarter were $487 million, down 7% from $522 million during the same quarter of the previous year.

Operating income within the North America Fresh Bakery segment was $4 million, down 74% from $14 million during the same quarter of the previous year. Sales in the segment were $530 million, up 6% from $499 million during the same quarter of the previous year.

For the nine months ended March 28, net income at Sara Lee was $378 million, or 54c per share, down 36% from $593 million, or 83c per share, during the same period of the previous year. Sales for the nine months were $9,717 million, nearly flat compared with $9,705 million during the same period of the previous year.

"The changes we have implemented to drive efficiencies and reduce costs, combined with our long-term commitment to innovation, marketing and talent management are beginning to benefit our bottom-line results despite ongoing macro-economic challenges," Ms. Barnes said. "Given the performance improvement initiatives we continue to implement through Project Accelerate, we believe we are well positioned to benefit even further when the global economy begins to recover."