Books-A-Million posted its second quarter earnings for the period ending July 30, with net sales dropping 11.4 percent to $106.4 million (from $120 million a year ago) and store comps falling 12.9 percent from the same time last year. The company also suffered a net loss of $2.9 million, or 18 cents a diluted share, in contrast to the $1.8 million in net profit earned 12 months ago, and on top of the $3.5 million lost in the first quarter. BAMM chairman, president and ceo Clyde Anderson said in a statement that the results “reflect a continuation of the trends […]
Booksellers
Indigo Store Comps Fall and Net Losses Mount in FirstQuarter
For their fiscal first quarter ending July 2, Indigo reported sales of C$202 million, down 1.1 percent from a year ago, with an EBITDA loss of C$19.9 million (compared to a loss of just $800,000 a year ago). Physical book sales fell, as superstore comps dropped 5.4 per cent in the quarter, while their smaller-format stores were down 5.2 per cent. They also took a $3.2 million charge for their annual summer clearance sales of unsold books and other merchandise. The company’s digital business increased by 170 percent compared to last year, helped by the June launch of the Kobo Touch […]
Amazon’s Meager Profit Is Still Better than Expected
Amazon’s profits are still declining even as the company post big gains in sales–but the second-quarter drop in profits was not as bad as Wall Street was expecting, so that counts as bullish news for investors (who now value the company at a more than 90 times its earnings). Sales increased 51% to $9.91 billion, about $500 million of that gain attributed to favorable foreign exchange; net income was $191 million or 41 cents a share, down from $207 million a year ago (on much smaller sales). But analysts were expecting only 34 cents a share on sales of under […]
Bookselling: Malone on BN; BA Objects to Amazon/Book Depository, WHSmith Store Comps Decline
Attending the Allen & Company conference in Sun Valley, Liberty Media ceo John Malone spoke publicly about the potential Barnes & Noble buyout for the first time since the possible merger was announced back in May. “It would be a bit of a flier for us, on whether or not Barnes & Noble can play competitively with the likes of Apple and Amazon in the digital transformation,” he said. “That’s really the bet.” Malone characterized the steep decline in brick-and-mortar bookselling as akin to those who survive a smallpox epidemic: “If you’re still alive, well, maybe you got a chance […]
Holland’s Arbeiderspers and Balans Are Merging Into Other Units; HMV Takes Big Writedown on Waterstone’s Sale; and More
Holland’s WPG (Weekblad Pers Groep) is merging some its well-known imprints in response to difficult market conditions. Arbeiderspers is going to merge with Bruna, relocating to Utrecht next January while maintaining a small office in Amsterdam. And Balans is going to merge with De Bezige Bij. Now that Waterstone’s has been sold, former parent company HMV reveals in its annual earnings report that the bookseller’s overall sales fell 14.4 million pounds for the year (with comps falling 3.8 percent) at £499.2 million, but operating profit rose to £9.5 million, compared to £2.8 million the year before. HMV also took a £110.5 million pound writedown […]
Nook Drives Record Full Year Sales (And Big Losses) For BN
Barnes & Noble reported fourth quarter and full year earnings Tuesday morning, and the results show even more clearly the divide between the company’s burgeoning digital growth and its still-declining brick & mortar business. For the year, sales rose 20 percent to just under $7 billion, a company record. The marked increase in sales owed to a huge jump at BN.com (with sales up 65 percent to $858 million) and the inclusion of a full year of sales from BN College, which reported full-year sales of $1.8 billion. Superstore comps were up 0.7 percent for the year because of digital, […]