Earnings jumped 139% at Educational Development Corporation in the third quarter ended November 30, 2015, over the same period last year. Profits were $1.2 million in the most recent quarter and were driven by a 123% increase in revenue, which rose to $24.4 million.
Since the middle of 2015, EDC has seen exceptional growth in sales through its home business division, and that trend carried through into the third quarter. Sales in the group soared 174% in the quarter, to $21.8 million, as the unit added over 7,000 new home sales reps in the period, pushing the number of sales associates to over 17,000. The increase in the home division offset a 12% decline on sales through the company's publishing group, which sells EDC;s line through retail outlets.
Company chairman Randall White observed that sales continued on a record pace in December with revenue up 217% to over $7 million.
For the first nine months of fiscal 2016, earnings rose 192% over fiscal 2015, hitting $2.2 million on a 87.5% increase in sales, to $46.7 million.
