Leslie’s Poolmart Profit Rises 53% in 3rd Quarter

Leslie’s Poolmart Inc., a Chatsworth-based chain of swimming pool supplies stores, said its third-quarter profit climbed 53% from a year earlier on a 12% increase in sales.

In the quarter ended Sept. 30, Leslie’s net income rose to $1.98 million from $1.29 million a year earlier, and its sales increased to $26.8 million from $23.9 million.

The company attributed the sales gain largely to the opening of 19 additional stores during the past 12 months. However, its “same-store” sales--sales by stores open at least a year--edged up only 1% in the third quarter, which Leslie’s blamed on “negative weather patterns” in some parts of the country.

For the first nine months of 1991, Leslie’s profit rose 21%, to $2.22 million from $1.83 million, and its nine-month sales climbed 12%, to $72.9 million from $65.0 million.