Quarterly Profits Rise 53% for Leslie’s Poolmart

Leslie’s Poolmart, a Chatsworth-based retailer of swimming-pool supplies and related products, said its fiscal third-quarter profits jumped 53% to $2 million from $1.3 million a year earlier on a 12% increase in sales, to $26.8 million from $23.9 million last year.

For the nine months ended Sept. 30, Leslie’s net income grew 21% to $2.2 million from $1.83 million last year, even though the latest period included a one-time accounting charge of $1.8 million related to the 1988 purchase of the company. Sales for the nine-month period rose 12% to $72.9 million from $65 million last year.

Leslie’s said the third-quarter sales growth reflected the opening of 19 new stores in the past year and a 17% increase in sales by the company’s mail-order operations. Same-store sales, excluding newly opened stores, rose 1% in the third quarter and 4% in the nine months compared to the same periods last year.