Electronics Boutique Holdings Corp. reported its third-quarter 1998 earnings today; the company reported a net income of US$1.6 million on revenues of $111.3 million for the quarter, which ended Oct. 31, 1998. Last year the company reported a net income of $386,000 for the same quarter.

　　Sales in stores open one year or more increased by 6.7 percent over the previous year's total for the quarter, EB said. The company has 500 stores in operation.

　　The company had a net income of $3 million with revenues of $321.1 million for the nine-month period ending Oct. 31. In 1997, pro forma net income stood at $350,000 on revenues of $251.8 million. Comparable store sales were up by 13.7 percent in the first nine months of fiscal 1998 compared with a year earlier.

　　"Among the many positive developments of fiscal 1998 for Electronics Boutique is the continuing strong growth of our Internet sales," said Joe Firestone, president and chief executive officer of Electronics Boutique. "More than 4800 products are now available for sale on our web site, which is updated daily. Thanks in part to newly designed web site that was introduced at the beginning of September this year, sales via our www.ebworld.com Internet site were 374 percent higher in 1998's third quarter than in the comparable period of 1997."

　　He said that his company expects to open 34 new stores in the US and internationally in the fourth quarter.