Barnes & Noble reported third quarter earnings Tuesday and, consistent with their holiday sales update, business increased at the retail stores. At $1.494 billion, store sales were up 2 overall; same-store sales rose 2.8 percent, and the company said “retail core” comparable sales, excluding devices, accessories and warranties, rose 4.2 percent compared to a year ago. (Those increases are all slightly smaller than the growth reported for the nine-week holiday period on its own) BN.com sales rose 32 percent to $420 million, on the rising Nook business but with “a decline in online physical product sales”; college sales slid, “due […]
Booksellers
Indigo Sales Up Slightly As Profit Falls in Third Quarter; Company President Steps Down
For their fiscal third quarter ending December 31, Indigo reported sales from continuing operations of C$353 million, up 0.5 percent from a year ago, with net profit of C$23.7 million (down from $27 million a year ago), affected by $4 million in non-cash asset impairment charges during the quarter. Superstore comps rose 1.8 percent and smaller-format stores were up 2.5 percent, but physical book sales declined, compensated for by rises in gift, lifestyle, toys, and ereaders. Online sales rose 9.3 percent compared to a year ago, at $31.2 million. Now accounted for separately as discontinued operations, Kobo had sales for the quarter of […]
Amazon’s Fourth Quarter Sales Are $800 Million Below Expectations; NA Media Growth Falls to 8 Percent
In recent quarters Amazon’s sales have grown sharply while earnings have diminished as the company invested in increased capacity and growing their Kindle business. At the close of the market Tuesday, the company reported fourth quarter sales that will be viewed as a stumble by Wall Street: Their $17.43 billion in revenue is well below the $18.2 billion analysts were expecting, though in the middle of the company’s broad guidance, up 35.5 percent over a year ago. The stock headed south in after-hours trading on the sales shortfall, down almost 9 percent, and fell further in regular trading this morning, […]
Corporate: Apple Sold 15.4 million iPads in First Quarter; Meredith Buys AllRecipes.com
Apple reported record earnings for the first quarter of its fiscal year, ending December 31, and beat Wall Street expectations so handily the stock was halted after hours Tuesday, rising more than $30 a share. The company sold 15.4 million iPads and 37 million iPhones during the quarter on net income of $13.1 billion, and $43.4 billion in revenue. Profits more than doubled compared to the first quarter of 2011. Apple sold over 40 million iPads in 2011, and has moved more than 55 million units since launching in early 2010. Release Though Random House was among the four reported […]
Like Thalia’s Germany, France’s Fnac Announces Restructuring As Sales Fall
Just after Germany’s biggest bookselling chain announced losses and an unspecified restructuring, French bookselling chain Fnac is in a similar position. The group says sales at their stores fell 5.4 percent in 2011 and they “expect annual current operating income to decrease by half,” citing “a severe decrease in popularity” of publications. They say “the worsening of the economic crisis over the last six months has led to a significant decrease in household spending in Europe, which is affecting Fnac’s markets in all of the countries in which it is present.” Fnac says they are working on an 80-million-euro cost […]
Bookselling: Thalia Admits Big Drop In Earnings; Random House Extends Free Shipping; Two Fall Regional Shows Merge
Germany’s largest bookstore chain Thalia is facing the same challenges as major booksellers in English-speaking countries, with parent company Dougles reducing their forecast EBITDA for the current fiscal year by a range of 15 to 30 percent, driving shares down sharply. The company warned that they will incur unspecified “expenditures for restructuring at Thalia” and blamed “the structural challenges in the entire books sector” for the earnings reduction. One German analyst told Bloomberg the company needs to make clear the restructuring costs and “and in general has to provide solutions and measures to get rid of the structural problems at […]