Year Earlier Quarter

St. Ives Laboratories Corp., citing stronger sales of its hair-care products, said its profit in the first-quarter ended March 31 rose 22% from a year earlier to $1.6 million. The Chatsworth company said sales rose 20% from the year-earlier quarter to $29.6 million.

Fidelity National Financial Inc.: The Irvine title insurance underwriter reported that net income for the first quarter rose 73% from the year-earlier quarter, to $3.8 million, or 41 cents a share, from $2.2 million, or 28 cents a share. Revenue increased 49%, to $107.4 million from nearly $72 million.

The Irvine marketer and distributor of lubricants and automotive-appearance products said it lost $416,272, or 1 cent a share, for the third quarter, compared with net income of $484,131, or 2 cents a share, for the year-earlier quarter. Sales were up 1% to $9.8 million.

National Semiconductor Corp. reported fiscal third-quarter earnings that were better than analysts had expected, sending its shares higher. The chip maker said net income for the three months ended Feb. 23 rose 86% to $42.8 million, or 30 cents a share, from $23 million, or 17 cents, in the year-earlier quarter. Sales rose 13% to $680.5 million from $600.3 million. National's stock lost 50 cents to close at $30.25 on the New York Stock Exchange.

The nation's large retailers posted average after-tax profits of 1.8 cents per dollar during the third quarter, up 0.4 cents from the year-earlier quarter, the Commerce Department said today. Retailers with assets of more than $50 million reported third-quarter after-tax profits of $2.6 billion, up $600 million from the second quarter and the year-ago period, the department said. Third-quarter sales improved 1.4%, or $2 billion, from the previous quarter to $143.7 billion and 9.9%, or $12.

WellPoint Health Networks Inc. reported a 22% increase in fourth-quarter earnings as membership in its health-care plans rose. The Woodland Hills-based managed-care company reported profit from operations of $58.5 million, or 88 cents a share, up from $47.8 million, or 72 cents, in the year-earlier quarter. In the most recent quarter, charges of $11.5 million, or 17 cents a share, for costs associated with a cash dividend paid in May resulted in net income of $47 million, or 71 cents.

Veronex Technologies Inc.: The Irvine software company recorded a net loss of $1.1 million, or 15 cents a share, for the second fiscal quarter, compared with a net loss of $59,000, or 1 cent a share, for the like period a year ago. No revenue was reported for the three months ended Aug. 31, compared with $40,000 for the year-earlier quarter.