Similar to the performance of the big US booksellers, the UK’s Waterstone’s “performance remains weak” according to parent company HMV, though “the recent administration of Borders UK may benefit the Group in the medium and long term.” Or not, since they admit to “continued market share gains by supermarket and online competitors.” For the first half of the fiscal year, sales of 225 million pounds were down 4.3 percent compared to a year ago, but down 5.1 percent on a same-store basis. And that was with sales growth from “related product ranges, such as gift stationery and technology, including the […]
Earnings Reports
Wiley Reverses Trend As Sales Grow, and Professional/Trade Rebounds
Wiley reversed three straight quarters of overall declines (and five consecutive quarters of declines in their professional/trade segment) as sales rose 4 percent to $448 million and operating profit (before a one-time charge) rose 7 percent, to $75.3 million. A small one percent drop in their big STM division, at $251 million, was more than made up for by a 14 percent gain in higher ed, at $77 million, and in the the professional/trade line, which rose 9 percent to $120 million. Trade “sales growth was strongest in the US, UK, Germany, and Australia” and major accounts are ordering again […]
BN Warns On Low Store Traffic and Higher Nook Costs
Barnes & Noble reported that store sales fell 2 percent to $950 million in their second quarter, with same-store sales down 3.2 percent (the smallest comp decline in the past six quarters, believe it or not). BN.com sales rose 9 percent at $120 million, and College sales for a one-month period only of $65 million were down 0.2 percent on a same-store basis. They reported a lost of $24 million, or 43 cents a share–with 30 cents of operating loss and 13 cents attributed to the College acquisition. Worrisome to both Wall Street and the trade, BN warned that they […]
More Sales Declines at Borders As Superstore Comps Fall 12%
Over at Borders, sales for the quarter fell 12.7 percent, at $595.5 million, with an operating loss of $39 million that was equal to last year’s deficit. (Their adjusted EBITDA loss of $34.2 million was higher than the $25.5 million a year ago.) The same-store sales declines were almost as brutal as the overall drop: superstore comps were down 12.1 percent (and still down 8.1 percent excluding multimedia), while Walden comps were down 12.7 percent. Total superstore sales were $492 million (down 12.1 percent), with Walden sales of $73 million down 20.3 percent from fewer stores. Calling the results “both […]
Sales Drop Lessens at Books-A-Million
BAM announced third quarter sales of $111 million, as same-store sales declined 1.9 percent compared to a year ago. Their net loss of $1.6 million was an improvement over last year’s loss of $2.2 million. Bear in mind, however, that for all booksellers comparisons this reporting quarter, the bar is already quite low. It was this time a year ago, for example, that BAM reported same-store sales had dropped 9.9 percent. So this time they are a doing just a little worse than last year–but last year they were performing terribly. CEO Clyde Anderson reiterated, “Comparable store sales for the […]
More Financial News: Bigger than Expected Loss at Hastings; Santillana Deal May Fall Through
In other financial news, sales at Hastings fell 1.7 percent in the third quarter, at $112.3 million, with the company showing a net loss of $3.4 million–at -36 cents a share that was well below what the company’s single analyst was forecasting, and $0.7 million worse than Hasting’s own internal forecast. As a result, they formally reduced their guidance on full-year earnings by five cents a share. According to the company’s category breakouts, book sales comps were just above flat at 0.2 percent for the quarter (also up 1 percent for the year), but publishers probably don’t benefit from the […]