Barnes & Noble Education followed in the footsteps of their former parent company with a disappointing second quarter sales report — only it matters more to BNED, since this was supposed to be their big “fall rush” season. Sales of $755.9 million were up $4.2 million, but net income fell by $3.6 million to $33.4. (They opened 7 new stores in the quarter, which added $6.6 million in sales.) EBITDA fell as well, at $72.7 million, down $5.2 million. Same-store sales dropped 3 percent in the quarter. CEO Max Roberts said in the release, “This fall rush period was negatively […]
Earnings Reports
Barnes & Noble Selloff Worse Than Expected After Disappointing Quarter, Poor Explanation
It seemed grim enough when Barnes & Noble’s stock fell 4.5 percent before they announced fiscal second quarter earnings after the close of the market Thursday and then dropped another 12 percent in after-hours trading when they failed to meet investors modest expectations. A tone-deaf planted piece in Friday’s NYT didn’t help, as new ceo Ronald Boire tried to pitch BN as some kind of broader “lifestyle brand” — and in the first hour of regular trading Friday morning BN shares declined over 20 percent, falling $2.50 a share to about $9.55 a share. (For perspective, right after spinning off BN College as a […]
Barnes & Noble Disappoints Low Expectations
Barnes & Noble reported fiscal second quarter earnings on Thursday afternoon after the close of the market, with sales through October 31 falling $42 million or 4.5 percent compared to a year ago, to $895 million. Though the charge due to the BN College spinoff was lower than expected — a $10.5 million executive severance payment, and investment banking fees of $7 million — EBITDA was negative, at a loss of $20.5 million. Worse, the net loss from continuing operations was $27.2 million or 36 cents per share, compared to a loss of $5.1 million, or 16 cents a share a year ago. […]
Books-A-Million Flat On Slightly Higher Comps
Still a publicly-traded company for now, Books-a-Million reported third quarter results on Tuesday afternoon. Sales of $101.6 million were $400,000 ahead of sales from a year ago, with same-store sales up 1.6 percent. But the company’s loss was slightly higher, by $200,000, at $7.1 million or 50 cents a share. The company attributed that to $800,000 in expenses related to the Anderson family’s pending buyout. In the release, ceo Terrance Finley said, “We saw improved sales in our core book and general merchandise categories, led by the positive impact of the growing coloring book trend. We also hosted several author events, namely those highlighting […]
Lagardere Gains On Currency As HBG USA Waits for Fourth Quarter
Lagardere reported third quarter sales on Tuesday, with the publishing division growing 2 percent on a like-for-like basis and 7.4 percent overall — thanks to a still surging dollar and strong UK pound — at €607 million, up €43 million from a year ago. Foreign exchange accounted for €32 million of the gain. (Similarly, for the first nine months of the year, foreign exchange accounts for €102 million of the unit’s gains, with €21 million coming from acquisitions, primarily in the UK.) Hachette Book Group USA had another decline, down 4.2 percent in the third quarter, “mainly due to challenging comparison with brisk sales in third quarter […]
Another Soft Quarter for Harper As Profits Are Hit, Even with WATCHMAN
HarperCollins reported sales for their fiscal first quarter, ending September 30. Total revenues rose $3 million, or 1 percent to $406 million for the quarter, while EBITDA dropped 24 percent to $42 million (compared to $55 million a year ago). But “adjusted” revenues, setting aside the addition of Harlequin (which was acquired during the third quarter in 2014) fell by $7 million, and adjusted EBITDA declined $20 million, to $40 million. While the Harlequin acquisition has gone well for the company, the core HarperCollins sales have declined (or been flat) the last four straight quarters. And the company did get […]