Jul 15, 2004 1:05 PM, from staff and wire reports

Nash Finch Co, a leading national food distributor and retailer, announced a net loss of $15.6 million for the second quarter ended June 19, 2004, compared with net earnings of $7.3 million for the second quarter a year ago. Total sales for the second quarter of 2004 were $906.4 million versus $888.6 million in the prior-year period.

For the first 24 weeks of 2004, total sales were $1.786 billion, compared with $1.745 billion in the same period of 2003. The net loss for the 24 week period of 2004 was $10.9 million, versus net earnings of $10.5 million in the year-ago period.