St. Ives Blames Profit Dip on Phar-Mor Failure

St. Ives Laboratories Inc., citing the ripple effect of the Phar-Mor Inc. bankruptcy, said its third-quarter profit fell 13% from a year earlier despite a 24% increase in sales.

Chatsworth-based St. Ives sells shampoos, lotions and other personal-care products. In the quarter ended Sept. 30, the company said it took a $320,000 write-off because Phar-Mor, a discount retailer based in Youngstown, Ohio, sought bankruptcy court protection Aug. 17.

St. Ives’ net income fell to $789,000 from $902,000 a year earlier. Excluding the write-off, St. Ives said its profit would have risen 23%. St. Ives’ third-quarter sales climbed to $39.8 million from $32.1 million.

For the first nine months of 1992, St. Ives’ profit rose 9%, to $3.32 million from $3.05 million a year earlier, and its nine-month sales jumped 23%, to $108.3 million from $88.2 million.