Third-quarter net income rose 54.3% at National Technical Systems Inc. (NASD: NTSC), a Calabasas CA-based provider of product testing and staffing services. The company reported net income of $631,000 in its fiscal third quarter ending Oct. 31 compared with $409,000 in the same period in the prior year.

National Technical Systems' third-quarter revenue rose 4.0% to $31.0 million from $29.8 million in the same period last year. Gross margin increased to 24.9% from 23.0%.

However, the company said revenue in its technical solutions division, which provides staffing, fell to $7.7 million in the third quarter, down 15.4% from $9.1 million in the third quarter of the prior year. National Technical Systems said it's changing its business model in this segment to an engineering solutions business.

National Technical Systems Inc. (NASD: NTSC)
For the third quarter ended Oct. 31, 2007, compared with the same period in the prior year.
Revenue: $31.0 million, +4.0%
Net income: $631,000, +54.3%