House of Fabrics Reports 5% Gain in Profits

House of Fabrics, the Sherman Oaks-based home sewing and crafts chain, reported a 5% increase in earnings for the three months that ended Oct. 31, to $4.52 million from $4.30 million over the same period last year.

Third-quarter sales rose 13% to $104.4 million, up from $92.5 million last year, the company reported. Gary L. Larkins, the company’s president and chief executive officer, attributed the increase in part to the addition of larger stores with expanded inventories.

Earnings for the nine months that ended Oct. 31 rose 33% to $7.36 million from $5.52 million in the same period a year earlier. Sales rose 10% to $278.1 million from $253.3 million last year.

The company operates 613 stores, and anticipates opening 10 additional stores and closing 18 before the end of the fiscal year, Larkins said.