EL PASO, Texas (Dow Jones/AP) ? Bermuda-registered Helen of Troy Ltd., a maker of personal-care products, this week posted a 44 percent jump in profit for its latest quarter, as its acquisition of the OXO brand earlier this year helped the company's bottom line.

For the fiscal second quarter ended August 31, net income came to $18.8 million, or 57 cents a share, compared with $13.1 million, or 42 cents a share, in the same quarter a year earlier.

Analysts had predicted second-quarter earnings of 53 cents a share.

Sales for the latest period surged 34 percent to $141.2 million from $105.3 million. The company is a licensed seller of such brands as Vidal Sassoon and its own brands such as Brut.

El Paso-based Helen of Troy continues to expect fiscal 2005 earnings to range from $2.50 a share to $2.70 a share, on sales of $575 million to $600 million.

For the third quarter ending November 30, the company expects sales to be in the range of $190 million to $200 million, or up about 15 percent to 21 percent from the $165.4 million it recorded a year ago.

Third-quarter earnings are estimated to be between 90 cents to 95 cents a share, compared with earnings of 78 cents a share a year ago, or an increase of 15 percent to 22 percent.

Helen of Troy said it expects its recent acquisition of the Skin Milk and TimeBlock brands from Naterra International of Dallas to begin adding to earnings during fiscal year 2006, which begins on March 1.