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WINSTON-SALEM (MCT) — Unifi Inc. began its new fiscal year with its best quarterly showing in seven years.

Unifi, a yarn manufacturer based in Greensboro, reported Thursday net income of $2.5 million in its first quarter of fiscal year 2010. It was the highest quarterly profit since 2002, according to Bill Jasper, the president and chief executive of Unifi.

By comparison, Unifi had a loss of $6.3 million in the same quarter a year ago.

Diluted earnings for the first quarter, which ended Sept. 27, were 4 cents a share, compared with a loss of 10 cents a year ago.

There were no earnings forecast for Unifi. The company has had limited covered by analysts in the past year.

The company, which has its largest manufacturing operations in Yadkinville, said that its sales increased by 2.2 percent to $143 million over the fourth quarter. The revenues, however, were down 15 percent from a year ago.

Unifi said it benefited from increased retail demand for its apparel and home-furnishings polyester products, which also helped to decrease its inventory levels.

Despite Unifi's quarterly profit, Unifi's debt level of $185.6 million on Sept. 27 remains a concern, said Peter Tourtellot, the managing director of Anderson Bauman Tourtellot Vos & Co., a turnaround-management company in Greensboro. "Any shortfall in revenue or creep in expenses will have a negative impact on their balance sheet," he said.