Quiksilver Profit Grows but Stock Keeps Falling

Sportswear designer Quiksilver Inc. said Wednesday that earnings rose about 24% to almost $14 million, or 58 cents a share, for its fiscal second quarter, exactly what analysts were expecting.

Its profit for the quarter ended April 30 increased from $11.3 million, or 49 cents a share, for last year’s second quarter. Sales jumped 18.3% to $168.2 million from $142.1 million.

The Huntington Beach company’s stock, which has lost 23% over the last two weeks, closed at $21.60 on the New York Stock Exchange, down 63 cents to a three-month low.

Analyst Elizabeth Pierce at Wedbush Morgan Securities said she is encouraged, in part, by a 24% hike in orders over last year’s second quarter--a “very respectable” increase given today’s rocky retail environment, she said.