St. John Knits Increases Profits in Third Quarter

St. John Knits Inc., the Irvine designer and manufacturer of women’s clothing and accessories, reported a 9% gain in profit for its third fiscal quarter to $2.5 million, or 31 cents a share, from $2.3 million, or 28 cents a share, for the like period last year.

Sales for the quarter ended Aug. 1 increased 33%, to $25 million from $18.8 million. For the first nine months of the fiscal year, profit was up from the year-earlier period, to $7.2 million, or 88 cents a share, from $4.8 million, or 59 cents a share. Sales rose to $70.7 million from $56 million.