Victoria’s Secret boosts Limited Brands profit

Limited Brands Inc. posted a third-quarter profit of $23.5 million, helped by sales at the Victoria’s Secret chain. The company also agreed to buy Canadian lingerie retailer La Senza Corp. for $628 million in cash.

Net income was 6 cents a share, compared with a loss of $683,000, or break-even on a per-share basis, a year earlier, Columbus, Ohio-based Limited said. Revenue rose 12% to $2.11 billion.

Limited projected fourth-quarter profit of $1.07 to $1.14 a share; analysts, on average, estimated $1.14. The company raised its full-year forecast to as much as $1.73 a share for the 12 months ending in January from as much as $1.65 to reflect better-than-expected third-quarter sales and profit.

Shares of Limited, which also owns the Express clothing chain, dropped 22 cents to $31.78 before earnings were released. In after-hours trading, the shares dropped to $30.05.