Hastings Entertainment reported a sharp decrease in fourth-quarter earnings, with a net income of $3.8 million, or $0.43 per share compared to $9.1 million or $0.94 per share, in the corresponding period one year earlier. Sales of $166.9 million for the quarter were down 8.9 percent from $176.1 million a year earlier. Comparable store revenues for books 7 percent for the fourth quarter, mostly owing to increased popularity of e-book readers, and lower sales of magazines, with a decline of 4.2 percent for the year ending January 31. All major trade book formats suffered more than the overall figure reflects, since their decreases were […]