St. Ives Sees Profit on Record 3rd-Quarter Sales

St. Ives Laboratories Inc., a Chatsworth maker of shampoos and other personal-care products, reported a third-quarter profit of $1.05 million on record quarterly sales.

The earnings for the quarter that ended Sept. 30 compared with a profit of $789,000 a year earlier. But last year’s third-quarter earnings were affected by a $320,000 charge related to the bankruptcy of Phar-Mor Inc. Excluding that one-time charge, St. Ives’ earnings in the latest quarter were down 5% from a year earlier.

The company, however, reported record sales of $46 million in the latest quarter, up 16% from $39.8 million a year earlier. St. Ives attributed the gain to increase in sales of existing products as well as the introduction of the Swiss Formula hair and skin-care line.

For the nine months that ended Sept. 30, St. Ives posted a profit of $3 million, down 9% from $3.3 million a year earlier. That doesn’t include the one-time $320,000 charge in the third quarter last year. Revenue in the latest nine-month period totaled $124.2 million, up 15% from $108.3 million a year earlier.