House of Fabrics’ Profit Rises 15% in 4th Quarter

House of Fabrics Inc., the nation’s leading chain of fabrics and sewing supplies, said its fiscal fourth-quarter profit rose 15% from a year earlier on an 11% gain in sales.

The Sherman Oaks-based concern said net income in the quarter ended Jan. 31 climbed to $6.46 million from $5.6 million, and its sales rose to $115.4 million from $104.1 million.

For its full fiscal year, House of Fabrics’ earnings jumped 24%, to $13.8 million from $11.1 million the previous year, and its annual sales increased 10%, to $393.5 million from $357.4 million.

Separately, House of Fabrics said it had succeeded in forcing Fabricland Inc. to hold a special shareholders’ meeting that House of Fabrics hopes will aid its hostile takeover bid for the Portland, Ore.-based fabric chain.

House of Fabrics has made a tender offer for Fabricland of $13.50 a share, or $44 million total, which Fabricland has rejected as inadequate. Fabricland also has in place a “poison pill” shareholder rights plan aimed at making the takeover bid prohibitively expensive.

House of Fabrics wants the special meeting so that shareholders can vote on its proposal to oust a majority of Fabricland’s directors and to rescind the rights plan. Under Oregon law, Fabricland must call such a meeting if holders of more than 10% of its stock ask for it, and House of Fabrics said holders of nearly 13% of the stock called for a meeting April 19.