Today's Meal
Barnes & Noble continued to
suffer from declining sales in their fourth quarter, ending April 29, but a
reduced loss in the period and improved earnings for the fiscal year gave
investors some confidence. After closing Wednesday near an all-time low of
$6.50 a share, investors were relieved by the improvement in profits and
stabilization at the company, sending the stock back up by roughly 7 percent in
the first hour of trading, returning to around $7 a share.
Sales for the quarter were $821 million, down 6.3 percent
both overall and on a same-store basis. Online sales nudged up 2.9 percent. The
retail segment recorded an operating loss of $15.9 million in the quarter while
Nook had a loss of $7.9 million, but the "consolidated" loss of
-$13.4 million was better than -$30.6 million a year ago.
For the full year, the company met their guidance on EBITDA, which was considered critical, and generated increased actual operating income, of $54.3 million. (Retail earned $90.7 million and Nook lost $36.4 million.) Consolidated EBITDA was $172.2 million, up from $150.5 million a year ago. Retail EBITDA actually fell, down $25.6 million on the lower sales, but the Nook losses got better as well.
Full year sales were $3.895 billion, down form $4.164 billion a year ago, dropping $269 million, or 6.5 percent. Same-store sales were down 6.3 percent for the full year, though online sales rose 3.7 percent during the year, up $10.8 million, thanks to ebook settlement credits as well as "site improvements and increased promotional activity."
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