EARNINGS : L.A. Gear Net Soars on Strong Demand

L.A. Gear said on Thursday that its third-quarter profit soared to $22 million from $8.7 million a year earlier, reflecting what the company termed strong demand for its athletic shoes, apparel and watches during the back-to-school shopping season.

The rapidly growing Marina del Rey company has a loyal following among school-aged youngsters and young adults and has a history of producing surprising sales, profit and market share results. Overall, its performance for the quarter ended Aug. 31--typically the company’s best period--was a little better than many analysts had expected. Sales leaped to $215 million, up from $76.1 million.

In a prepared statement, Chairman Robert Y. Greenberg said: “While the third quarter is typically our strongest quarter, we are very optimistic for the performance of our company in the coming months, as reflected in our current backlog of approximately $225 million, as compared with $150 million at Aug. 1, 1989.”

Stock Closes Off

A year earlier, the company’s backlog was $75 million.

L.A. Gear also continues to shine on Wall Street, despite being singled out in the past by “short sellers” who have sold borrowed shares on the expectation that the stock will fall. In composite trading on the New York Stock Exchange Thursday, L.A. Gear closed at $43.25, down $1.875. But the price had risen more than $7 since Monday, following a previous pattern of a rising expectation of strong quarterly earnings, followed by a selloff immediately afterward, said Jonathan H. Ziegler, an analyst with Sutro & Co. in San Francisco.

He said the company’s announcement earlier this month that it had signed pop star Michael Jackson as a commercial spokesman also contributed to a rising stock price.