Barnes & Noble Education reported its third quarter results for the 13-week period ending January 27. While sales of $603 million increased $82 million, or 15.7%, as compared to a year ago, BNED incurred a net loss of $283 million, compared to net income of $3.8 million the prior year. The recent acquisitions of MBS and Student Brands once again accounted for the sales gains, as they did in the company’s second quarter. After conducting its annual goodwill impairment test, the company was forced to admit that goodwill vastly exceeded their estimated fair value, due to the reduction in BNED’s […]
Booksellers
Waterstones Performs Only A Little Better, and Restates Debt Schedule
UK bookseller Waterstones reported results for the fiscal year ending back on April 29, 2017, which the UK media has reported with their customary excess of enthusiasm. What the numbers show is that sales were flat or somewhat down, at £404 million, compared to £409 million in fiscal 2016 (which was an unusual 53-week year). Actual profit after tax of £16 million was down £1.5 million (or 9 percent). But the headlines declare “Waterstones’ annual profits jump 80%.” That’s referring to profit before tax, which indeed was £18 million, up from £9.9 million a year ago. (Last year they captured […]
Holiday Book Sales Were Fine, But Not At Barnes & Noble; Chain Reduces Earnings Guidance
Unfortunately Barnes & Noble continues to underperform the book business as a whole, disclosing holiday sales in contrast to the industry trend. Sales for the nine weeks ending December 30 were $953 million, down 6.4 percent compared to the prior year, and down the same percentage on a same-store business. Book sales on their own were down 4.5 percent, consistent with the company’s report at the end of November that their non-book product was performing poorly and being curtailed. For the holiday period, “declines in the gift, music and DVD categories accounted for nearly half of the comparable store sales decrease.” […]
Barnes Education Grows Profits On Still-Weak Sales
Barnes & Noble Education has performed so poorly that an uptick in profits for their fiscal second quarter — even as college bookstore and textbook sales comps fell — has lifted the stock. With net income for the back-to-school quarter of $48.4 million, compared to $29.3 million, the stock rose almost 25 percent in early trading on Tuesday. Even with that, shares are still down by about a third for the year, and after spending $58.5 million for Student Brands and $174 million for MBS Textbook Exchange during the year, the improved market cap is still only about $365 million. […]
Barnes & Noble’s Sales Decline Below Expectations Once More
Barnes & Noble reported earnings for their fiscal second quarter ending October 28, once again reporting mediocre results: Sales and store comps declined, and the loss grew, with both sales and earnings missing analysts’ modest expectations. Shares fell approximately 10 percent in the first hour of trading, back to about $7 a share, on the disappointing results. But there is a glimmer of encouragement. After years of touting everything but books (digital devices, educational toys & games, vinyl records, maker fairs, collectibles, etc.), with limited effect, Barnes & Noble has decided to be a bookseller: In the new release, ceo […]
Barnes & Noble’s Sales Decline Below Expectations Again, and Shares Fall
Barnes & Noble reported earnings for their fiscal first quarter on Thursday morning, through July 29, and the trendlines: Lower sales, lower store comps, and continuing losses, with both sales and earnings missing analysts’ modest expectations, sending shares down almost 12 percent in early trading. Sales of $853 million were $57 million lower, down 6.6 percent, with same-store sales falling 4.9 percent, “as declines in non-book categories outpaced improved book trends during the quarter.” The net loss of $10.8 million was better than the loss of $14.4 million a year ago, though did not improve as much as expected. Nook actually […]