House of Fabrics’ Stock Still in Volatile Pattern

House of Fabrics Inc.’s stock has remained on a roller-coaster ride lately, propelled in part by the company’s disclosure of sluggish sales growth.

Shares of the Sherman Oaks-based fabric retailer, which traded as high as $40 a share in early November, began last week with a sharp decline. The stock lost more than $6 a share over three sessions, then recovered $4 over the last two trading days before closing unchanged Monday at $26.625 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading.

The continued volatility prompted House of Fabrics President Gary L. Larkins to issue a statement a week ago in which he said there were no “external developments that would explain” the stock’s movement. It was the second time in three weeks that Larkins released a statement to address the stock’s volatility.

But in the latest statement Larkins also disclosed that the chain’s same-store sales--those of stores open at least a year--”have remained flat” this month. That unsettled investors further, as House of Fabrics’ stock dipped after Larkins’ statement.

Nonetheless, House of Fabrics, the nation’s biggest fabric chain with 673 outlets, will still enjoy “by a large margin” record sales and profit in its fiscal year ending Jan. 31, Larkins predicted. Through the nine months that ended Oct. 31, its profit surged 54% from a year earlier on a 22% sales gain.