Kansas City, Mo. ? A year after bankruptcy, the maker of Wonder Bread and Hostess Twinkies has taken steps to solve a host of internal problems but is still not out of trouble.

Interstate Bakeries Corp. has consolidated operations, announced more than 4,000 layoffs and is renegotiating more than 500 separate union contracts that cover a majority of its 32,000 employees. Also part of its recipe: new products to reach new customers, something that had been a blind spot for the 78-year-old company.

Interstate Bakeries, based in Kansas City, filed for Chapter 11 protection from its creditors last September, blaming inflexible costs and low sales it said were caused by consumers’ preference for foods low in carbohydrates.

The company had spent decades amassing national and regional brands and ended up with a glut of bakeries and distribution centers that loaded the company down. New management installed after the bankruptcy filing reviewed operations in five of its 10 regions, closing six low-performing bakeries and consolidating delivery routes, distribution centers and thrift stores along parts of the east and west coasts and the Midwest.

“What they’re doing is getting smaller to get more profitable, something we’ve been advocating for years,” said Janney Montgomery Scott analyst Mitchell Pinheiro, who covers the food industry.

Interstate Bakeries also in recent months has begun rolling out new products, a weakness for which analysts frequently lambasted the company in past years.

Litter piles up in the entrance of the closed Parisian Bakeries Tuesday in San Francisco. Interstate Bakeries Corp., a 78-year-old company based in Kansas City, filed for Chapter 11 protection from its creditors in September 2004, blaming inflexible costs and low sales it said were caused by consumers' preference for foods low in carbohydrates.

Under its Wonder brand, the company has test-marketed White Bread Fans, a high-tech bread made with whole wheat but featuring the taste and texture of white bread. The company also has introduced a Wonder brand fortified with minerals and vitamins, aimed at children.

For the first time in decades, Hostess packaging and other marketing efforts received a facelift, designed to look more contemporary and attract greater attention on supermarket shelves. Interstate Bakeries also rolled out Las Delicias de Hostess, a separate line of treats aimed at the Latino market.

Josh Sosland, editor of the Kansas City-based Milling & Baking News, said the products wouldn’t change the company’s slow-moving image in the industry – the company only released a reduced-carb bread last year, far behind most baking competitors. But he said its recent moves are a start.

“Really what’s important is they’ve shown us they know what’s going on in the market,” Sosland said. “But it still remains to be seen if these will translate into sustained success for this business.”

Investors have at least found something to like in the company’s moves. Interstate Bakeries’ stock now trades on the highly speculative over-the-counter market but has seen its price rise from $3 to as high as $13 this summer. The stock closed at $9.70 a share on Friday.

Shelves sit empty in the closed Parisian Bakeries in San Francisco. Interstate Bakeries Corp. had spent decades amassing national and regional brands and ended up with a glut of bakeries and distribution centers.

While the company has seen monthly sales between $250 million and $270 million since last September, high operations costs and the price of the restructuring have led to $86.5 million in losses. July saw the first monthly profit since bankruptcy and that was thanks to a property sale in California and Idaho.

Meanwhile, even company officials can’t say if and when Interstate Bakeries will resurface from bankruptcy.

After filing for bankruptcy, the company’s directors got rid of its former management and brought in New York-based turnaround firm Alvarez & Marsal LLC. John Suckow, one of the firm’s partners and now Interstate Bakeries’ chief restructuring officer, said he wouldn’t know when the company could come out of bankruptcy until the end of the year, at least.

“Timing of our exit is uncertain given the challenges in front of us,” Suckow said in response to e-mailed questions from The Associated Press. He said once costs are under control and sales and product development are more consistent, management will work out a plan to emerge from Chapter 11 protection.

Also working against Interstate Bakeries is that, aside from monthly revenue and expense reports ordered by the bankruptcy court, the company hasn’t released audited financial information in more than a year. The company, which reported massive problems with its accounting system shortly before filing for bankruptcy, told securities officials in May it won’t release the delinquent numbers until Dec. 31.