Martin Lawrence’s Profit Triples for 3rd Quarter

Martin Lawrence Limited Editions said its third-quarter profit more than tripled from a year earlier on a doubling of revenue.

The Van Nuys-based operator of art galleries said earnings for the three months ended Sept. 30 jumped to $765,000, or 11 cents a share, from $215,000, or five cents a share, a year earlier. The increase in per-share results was not as large as overall net income because the company had more shares outstanding than a year ago.

The improved results were attributed in part to a push to open more art galleries.

Third-quarter revenue rose to $5.8 million, from $2.4 million.

Martin Lawrence’s profit also more than tripled for the first nine months of 1987, to $2.1 million, or 36 cents a share, from $647,000, or 15 cents a share, a year ago. Nine-month revenue climbed to $16.5 million from $7.4 million.