<![CDATA[Ingles Markets Inc. last week reported a 1.6 percent increase in net sales to $932.8 million for its first fiscal quarter ended Dec. 29. Net income rose 9.2 percent to $11.6 million for the December 2012 quarter, compared with net income of $10.6 million for the quarter ended December 2011. "We are off to a good start for fiscal 2013, our 50th year. The holiday season was very competitive for our industry, and we responded well," said Chief Executive Officer Robert P. Ingle II. Net sales rose 1.6 percent to $932.8 million for the quarter, compared with $918.2 million for the quarter ended Dec. 24, 2011. For the comparable December 2012 and 2011 quarters and excluding gasoline sales, grocery segment comparable store sales increased 1.5 percent, weekly customer visits increased 1.4 percent and the average transaction amount was essentially unchanged. Gross profit for the first quarter of fiscal 2013 rose $6.2 million to $207.9 million compared with the first quarter of fiscal 2012. Gross profit as a percentage of sales rose to 22.3 percent for the first quarter of fiscal 2013 compared with 22.0 percent for the first quarter of fiscal 2012.