In a preliminary report of annual results, Waterstone’s parent HMW is claiming that bookstore sales are improving, with same-store sales for the 16-weeks ending April 24 down 4.8 percent–which is indeed better than the full-year same-store decline of 6.2 percent, and also an improvement over the poor Christmas holiday comp decline of 8.9 percent. Overall bookstore sales for the year are down 6 percent as well. It’s the second straight annual decline for the chain. Though they did not report actual figures today, based on last year’s numbers, sales will be down to approximately 515 million pounds for the year. […]