ATCHISON, KAS. — A business acquisition gain associated with the acquisition of LDI Distillery helped boost income significantly for MGP Ingredients, Inc. during the second quarter.

During the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2011, the company had income of $16,144,000, equal to 89c per share, which compared with income of $3,242,000, or 18c per share, during the same quarter of the previous year. The company had net sales of $70,339,000, up 21% from $57,951,000 during the same quarter of the previous year.

“We faced some big challenges over the past six months, complicating the task of putting the right business foundation in place,” said Tim Newkirk, president and chief executive officer. “We’ve made solid progress in terms of lowering our fixed costs and increasing our flexibility. We now have the right strategic partners in place in the areas of raw materials, transportation logistics and supply chain management. Our long-term goal is to generate sustainable cost and capital savings, improve our hedging, and generate higher cash flows on growing sales.”

For the six months ended Dec. 31, the company had income of $10,635,000, or 59c per share, up 29% from $8,244,000, or 46c per share, during the same period of the previous year. Sales during the six months were $146,477,000, up 27% from $114,929,000.