Top 40 promotional products supplier Delta Apparel (asi/49172) has reported that sales and earnings were up during its fiscal third quarter – and for the nine-month period ended June 29th.

The Greenville, SC-based firm announced Wednesday that sales across all its business divisions in the third quarter were $119.3 million, a 6.3% rise over the same quarter the prior year. Net sales in the company’s Delta Group segment, which include revenue from the promo products industry, were up 5%. For the first three quarters of Delta Apparel’s current fiscal year, total company revenue tallied $323.8 million, a year-on-year increase of 7%.

Meanwhile, net income for the quarter was $4.9 million, or $0.70 per diluted share, compared to the prior year period of $4.6 million, or $0.62 per diluted share. For the nine-month fiscal timeframe, net income was $4.7 million, or $0.67 per diluted share. That compared to a net loss of $1.8 million, or $0.25 per diluted share, in the previous fiscal year’s initial nine months.

Delta Apparel incurred net losses during its first two quarters this fiscal year, which is why earnings on the year-to-date add up to less than the third quarter alone. The strong Q3 has pulled Delta out of its earnings slump.

A $2.5 million litigation expense tied to The Sports Authority’s March 2016 bankruptcy was the primary factor in the net loss for Delta Apparel’s first two fiscal quarters, which ended March 30.

In Q3, however, Delta Apparel benefited from a litigation result. The company’s Salt Life business segment realized a $1.3 million discrete gain from the settlement of commercial litigation. Net of related expenses, the matter resulted in an improvement to operating income of $1 million, or approximately $0.10 diluted earnings per share.

Robert W. Humphreys, Delta’s chairman and CEO, said he was pleased with the third quarter. He called particular attention to the company’s DTG2Go digital printing business, which he said is growing rapidly and thereby “allowing us to capitalize on the disruption digital print technology is driving on graphic tees.”

Speaking broadly about Delta Apparel’s position, Humphreys said: “The successes we are seeing across our business validate our focus on expanding our go-to-market strategies and sales channels, as well as investing in manufacturing technology and distribution speed.”

With fiscal 2018 North American promotional product revenue of $46.2 million, Delta Apparel ranked 38th on Counselor’s latest list of the largest suppliers in the industry.