Better-Than-Expected Quarter for Hot Topic

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Hot Topic Inc., which last week announced it would be taken private by a private equity firm, on Wednesday reported that its fiscal fourth-quarter profit jumped by more than one-third.

After the markets closed, the City of Industry teen retailer reported net income of $12.1 million (29 cents a share) for the quarter ended Feb. 2, 38 percent higher than in the same period a year earlier. Net sales rose 11 percent to $233 million, with comparable-store sales up 2.6 percent.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters on average expected Hot Topic to report a profit of 27 cents a share on revenue of $228 million.

Hot Topic announced March 7 that it had agreed to be acquired by Sycamore Partners of New York for about $600 million. In addition to an online operation, the company operates 618 Hot Topic apparel and accessory stores, 190 Torrid plus-size stores and five Blackheart lingerie stores.

Shares earlier closed up 1 cent, or less than 1 percent, to $13.85 on the Nasdaq, and rose less than 1 percent in after-hours trading.

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