Barnes & Noble Reports Loss Worse than Expected : Barnes & Noble Inc., the U.S. bookstore chain that put itself up for sale this month, posted a wider first-quarter loss than some analysts estimated as retail sales fell for an 11th straight quarter.
Barnes & Noble reported a net loss of $62.5 million, or $1.12 per share, for the first quarter ended July 31, compared with a year-earlier profit of $12.3 million, or 21 cents per share. Excluding one-time items, the loss was $1.02 per share, deeper than the 80 cents Wall Street analysts expected, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Sales, which reflect last September’s purchase of College Booksellers, rose 20.8 percent to $1.4 billion. Online sales, including the Nook e-reader device launched in October and e-books, rose 42 percent to $145 million.
The world’s biggest brick-and-mortar bookseller put itself up for sale earlier this month as it is looking at ways to boost shareholder value, saying its shares were significantly undervalued. The company has struggled, suffering from weakened store traffic, as the rise of electronic books and e-readers has disrupted the traditional bookselling market. The result has been pressured sales and increased costs for Barnes & Noble, which has launched its own e-reader, the Nook.
Barnes & Noble adopted a plan to prevent unwanted takeovers, a so-called poison pill, in November after Burkle said his stake rose to 17 percent. Under pressure from Burkle, the company said Aug. 3 it was seeking a possible sale and that Leonard Riggio, its founder, largest shareholder and chairman, may be a bidder.
The bookseller said legal and other costs surrounding the contest would hurt results, and it lowered its full-year forecast by 25 cents per share to a loss of 25 cents to 65 cents. The company’s shares were down 2.7 percent at $14.60 in premarket trading.
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