Recording its eighth straight profitable quarter, e-commerce vendor Elcom International said it has hired Smith Barney to explore a possible sale or merger, strategic alliances, and financing options to boost stockholder value. For the quarter ended September 30, Elcom reported net income of $3.4 million, or 11 cents a share, beating the First Call consensus of analysts' estimates, which was 8 cents a share. Revenues for the company were $198 million.