goods sold during the second quarter of 2023, the Company’s gross profit would have been $102.7 million, or 21.9% of net sales. Gross profit was $76.5 million for the second quarter of 2022, or 16.0% of net sales. Excluding the negative impact of $2.3 million of acquisition/divestiture-related expenses and non-recurring expenses included in cost of goods sold during the second quarter of 2022, the Company’s gross profit would have been $78.8 million, or 16.5% of net sales.
The improvements in gross profit and gross profit as a percentage of net sales were driven by an increase in net pricing as compared to the second quarter of 2022 and the impact of moderating input cost inflation and lower transportation and warehousing costs. During the fourth quarter of 2022, the Company began to more fully realize the benefits of previously announced list price increases. This trend continued during the first and second quarters of 2023, with the impact of previously announced list price increases the primary driver of recoveries in gross profit and gross profit as a percentage of net sales.
Selling, general and administrative expenses increased $3.7 million, or 8.3%, to $47.9 million for the second quarter of 2023 from $44.2 million for the second quarter of 2022. The increase was composed of increases in general and administrative expenses of $3.0 million, consumer marketing expenses of $2.0 million, selling expenses of $0.6 million, and warehousing expenses of $0.1 million, partially offset by a decrease in acquisition/divestiture-related and non-recurring expenses of $2.0 million. Expressed as a percentage of net sales, selling, general and administrative expenses increased by 1.0 percentage points to 10.2% for the second quarter of 2023, as compared to 9.2% for the second quarter of 2022.
Net interest expense increased $5.9 million, or 19.6%, to $35.8 million for the second quarter of 2023 from $29.9 million for the second quarter of 2022. The increase was primarily attributable to higher interest rates on the Company’s variable rate borrowings, partially offset by a reduction in average long-term debt outstanding of $49.2 million and the $0.8 million gain on extinguishment of debt described below. The reduction in average long-term debt outstanding in the second quarter of 2023 as compared to the second quarter of 2022 resulted primarily from the Company’s use of $50.0 million of the gross proceeds of the Back to Nature divestiture and an additional $71.0 million of cash on hand to make aggregate prepayments of $121.0 million principal amount of term loans during the first quarter of 2023, as well as the Company’s repurchase of $24.4 million aggregate principal amount of its 5.25% senior notes due 2025 in open market purchases at an average discounted repurchase price of 95.74% of such principal amount plus accrued and unpaid interest during the second quarter of 2023, partially offset by an increase in average revolver borrowings outstanding of approximately $77.9 million.
The Company’s net income was $10.6 million, or $0.15 per diluted share, for the second quarter of 2023, compared to net income of $0.3 million, or $0.00 per diluted share, for the second quarter of 2022. The Company’s adjusted net income for the second quarter of 2023 was $10.7 million, or $0.15 per adjusted diluted share, compared to adjusted net income of $5.1 million, or $0.07 per adjusted diluted share, for the second quarter of 2022.
For the second quarter of 2023, adjusted EBITDA was $68.5 million, an increase of $14.4 million, or 26.4%, compared to $54.1 million for the second quarter of 2022. The increase in adjusted EBITDA was primarily attributable to the improvement in gross profit described above. Adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of net sales was 14.6% for the second quarter of 2023, compared to 11.3% for the second quarter of 2022.
Financial Results for the First Two Quarters of 2023
Net sales for the first two quarters of 2023 decreased $29.9 million, or 3.0%, to $981.5 million from $1,011.4 million for the first two quarters of 2022. The decrease was primarily attributable to the Back to Nature divestiture, partially offset by the Yuma acquisition. Net sales of Back to Nature, which the Company divested on January 3, 2023, and therefore not part of the Company’s fiscal 2023 results, were $24.2 million during the first two quarters of 20222. An additional four months of net sales from the Yuma acquisition, which was completed on May 5, 2022, contributed an incremental $0.6 million to the Company’s net sales for the first two quarters of 2023.
Base business net sales for the first two quarters of 2023 decreased $6.0 million, or 0.6%, to $980.9 million from $986.9 million for the first two quarters of 2022. The decrease in base business net sales was driven by a