St. Ives’ Profit Falls 17% in Second Quarter

St. Ives Laboratories Inc., a Chatsworth manufacturer of shampoos and other personal-care products, reported a 17% drop in second quarter profit despite a 10% increase in sales.

For the quarter ended June 30, St. Ives posted a profit of $1.04 million on sales of $38.7 million. In the same period a year earlier, the company had a profit of $1.25 million on sales of $35.1 million.

St. Ives said its profit did not keep pace with revenue partly because of a previously announced plan to continue investments in consumer marketing programs.

For the six months ended June 30, St. Ives reported a profit of $1.93 million, down 24% from $2.53 million a year earlier. Revenue in the first half of this year was up 14%, to $78.2 million from $68.4 million.