Jamba Swings to 3rd-Quarter Profit

For the 12-week period ended Oct. 16, Jamba swung to a profit of $22.4 million, or 40 cents per share, from a loss of $19.4 million, or 92 cents per share, in the year-ago period. The company had more than twice as many outstanding in the recent period than the 2006 quarter.

Excluding a pre-tax gain of $23.3 million, or 42 cents per share, the company's adjusted loss was 2 cents per share.

Revenue rose by 24.2 percent to $83.6 million from $67.4 million.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected a loss of a penny per share on revenue of $82.2 million.

Company owned same-store sales rose by 3.8 percent on price increases and stronger performance outside of California. Same-store sales, or sales at stores open at least a year, is a key indicator of retailer performance since it measures growth at existing stores rather than newly opened ones.

Shares of Jamba fell 4 cents to $4.45 in the regular session, but in aftermarket trading lost 20 cents, or 4.5 percent, to $4.25. The stock hit an intraday low of $4.22, below a previous 52-week low of $4.40.