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LANSING, Michigan — Despite quarterly earnings that jumped 18 percent and exceeded analysts’ expectations, food and animal safety products company Neogen Corp. saw its stock slide in early trading Friday.

The company credited strong sales of its food-safety test kits, in addition to cost-cutting measures, for its financial performance. Net income was $4.6 million, or 20 cents a share, for the quarter ended Nov. 30. Analysts had expected earnings of 19 cents per share.

Nonetheless, Neogen’s share price had fallen about 3 percent to $23.05 in early Friday trading.

Chief Executive James Herbert characterized the company’s earnings as “exceptional considering the economic situation encountered by many of our customers,” according to a statement from the company. Sales jumped 13 percent to $35 million.

Sales in the company’s food safety division increased 20 percent to $18 million, led by sales of tests for dairy antibiotic residues, Neogen reported. The company’s test kits are used to detect various food safety hazards.

Cool, wet weather conditions in the U.S. corn belt during the summer and fall led to increased demand for test kits to detect the presence of mycotoxins, substances produced by fungi that are hazardous to animals and humans, according to Neogen.

Earlier this month, Neogen acquired a United Kingdom-based company, BioKits, which produces test kits for food allergens, for a reported $6.5 million. Last month, Neogen’s board approved a 3-for-2 stock split in which shareholders as of Nov. 30 would receive an additional share for every two shares they own.