Hot Topic 3rd-Quarter Profit Rises 16%

Hot Topic Inc., which sells rock-band T-shirts and other music-related merchandise, said fiscal third-quarter profit rose 16% as sales increased.

Net income rose to $8.51 million, or 39 cents a share, from $7.32 million, or 34 cents, a year earlier, the company said. Sales increased 28% to $92.1 million from $72.2 million.

Same-store sales, or sales at stores open at least a year increased 2.2%, the Industry-based company said.

Per-share profit matched the 39-cent average estimate of eight analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial/First Call.

Shares of Hot Topic rose $1.73, or 6.4%, to $28.58 on Nasdaq. The announcement was made after the close of U.S. markets.