Sara Lee yesterday (8 February) posted a slump in underlying quarterly profits as rising commodity costs hit earnings.The US food group, which plans to split in two next year, booked net income from continuing operations of US$107m for its fiscal second quarter, which ended on 1 January. In the previous year's second quarter, the figure stood at $298m.On a reported basis, Sara Lee's net income was $882m, up from $376m a year ago. However, this year's figure included a gain on the sale of the company's North American fresh bakery business, which it offloaded in November.Sara Lee's second-quarter operating income stood at $206m, down from $269m a year earlier. The company pointed to higher commodity costs but also to the fact that its results compared to a "very strong" second quarter last year, when lower commodity costs "provided a benefit to the company".The company's reported net sales dipped 0.4% to $2.3bn as lower unit volumes and unfavourable foreign exchange rates weighed on the business's top line.Shares in Sara Lee were down 0.1% at $16.91 at 10:02 ET.just-food is the world’s leading portal for the global pre-packaged food and retail industries. Its daily mix of breaking news, views, analysis and research serves over 100,000 food executives each month. http://www.just-food.com/