Continuing a streak that now stands at four months, Jos. A. Bank Clothiers Inc. said yesterday that its same-store sales increased 2.4 percent last month. That helped boost sales in the third quarter 7.8 percent, the company said.

Company officials were pleased with gains made at the Hampstead-based men's apparel retailer.

"This is a continuation of a good trend for the year," said Chief Financial Officer David E. Ullman. "We're pleased we're beating last year's numbers. ... The market for tailored clothing isn't growing, so we're getting the business from some of our competitors."

Michael M. Via, an analyst at Anderson & Strudwick Inc. in Richmond, Va., said Jos. A. Bank has outperformed others in the market in the past quarter.

Bank's sales increase last month was about the same as that of Men's Wearhouse Inc., Bank's closest competitor.

"Bank has done better in the quarter, and that means they've been taking market share from Men's Wearhouse," he said. "Bank has pretty much been in an upward sale mode since February."

Via said a deal announced yesterday which calls for Bank to feature its apparel with the online retailer Amazon.com is likely to boost sales.

Bank, which has its own Web site, said combined catalog and Internet sales rose 11.2 percent last month and 14.3 percent in the quarter compared with last year's corresponding periods.

Total sales last month were $22.1 million, compared with $20 million in October last year, the company said. In the third quarter, total sales were $57.9 million, compared with $50.2 million in the third quarter last year. Those numbers include sales at all stores, including those open less than a year.

The last month Jos. A. Bank did not have a gain in same-store sales was June. At the time, analysts and the company blamed that on a lack of inventory.

Chief Executive Officer Robert N. Wildrick said last month's results were strong, especially considering the difficulties Bank faced in addition to a difficult retail environment.

"The gains were achieved despite the negative impact of the terrible sniper activity in the Maryland-D.C.-Virginia area, where we have 18 stores, and the slight delay which occurred when we rerouted inventories to avoid the West Coast ports in anticipation of a processing slowdown," he said in a statement.

"We expect sales to continue increasing in each month of the fourth quarter, with December likely to post the greatest increase as a result of the shift in the Thanksgiving calendar."

Wildrick said suits, shirts and ties have sold especially well. Sales of sportswear and outerwear also rose as the weather got colder.

Shares of Bank gained 94 cents, or 4.23 percent, yesterday to close at $23.14 on the Nasdaq stock market.