Zep Inc., Atlanta, GA, a producer, marketer, and service provider of cleaning and maintenance solutions, reported sales of $123 million for the third quarter ended May 31, 2009, down 15.3% from the prior year. Profit improved to $5.4 million from $168,000 for third quarter of fiscal year 2008; third quarter 2008’s results included restructuring and special charges of $5.9 million.

For this first nine months, sales were $366.7 million, down 13.1%. Profit declined 65.1% to $2.9 million.

Weak customer demand across a number of end-markets and high raw material costs negatively impacted the overall results.

"However, our restructuring and cost reduction measures have gained additional traction, and our third quarter gross profit margin exceeded that of the second quarter by 2.7 …