New York, NY (August 20, 2009)—Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), the world's largest bookseller, today reported sales and earnings for the second quarter ended August 1, 2009. In addition, the company also announced that its Board of Directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.25 per share payable on September 30, 2009, to stockholders of record on September 9, 2009.
Total sales for the second quarter were $1.2 billion, a 5% decrease compared to the prior year. Barnes & Noble store sales decreased 5% to $1.0 billion, with comparable store sales decreasing 6.9% for the quarter, within the Company's guidance for a decrease of 5% to 7%. Barnes & Noble.com sales were $102 million for the quarter, a 2% increase compared to the prior year.
Second quarter net earnings were $12.3 million, or $0.21 per share. Included in net earnings was an after-tax cash benefit of $4 million, or $0.07 per share, resulting from an insurance settlement. Excluding this benefit, second quarter net earnings would have been $0.14 per share, compared to guidance of $0.05 to $0.15 per share.
Bestselling titles during the quarter included Janet Evanovich's Finger Lickin' Fifteen, Kathryn Stockett's The Help, Daniel Silva's The Defector, Sophie Kinsella's Twenties Girl, and Dick Morris's Catastrophe.
"Due to strong expense management and improved gross margins we achieved earnings per share near the high-end of guidance. While the decline in retail traffic continues to be the principal impediment to our top line, we do offer our customers the ability to shop with us online, where sales were slightly above last year," said Steve Riggio, chief executive officer of Barnes & Noble, Inc. "We remain focused on working capital management, which resulted in solid free cash flow and no borrowings on our credit facility for the second quarter."
GUIDANCE
For the third quarter, the company expects comparable store sales at Barnes & Noble stores to decline 1% to 3%. The company continues to expect full-year comparable store sales to decline 3% to 5%.
On August 10, 2009, the company announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Barnes & Noble College Booksellers. The acquisition is expected to close on or about October 1, 2009, at which point the company plans to issue updated guidance for the balance of the year.
As of August 1, 2009, the company operated 724 Barnes & Noble stores and 50 B. Dalton stores. During the second quarter, one Barnes & Noble store was opened and three were closed. One B. Dalton store was closed during the quarter.
A conference call with Barnes & Noble, Inc.'s senior management will be webcast beginning at 10:00 A.M. ET on Thursday, August 20, 2009, and is accessible at www.barnesandnobleinc.com/webcasts.
Barnes & Noble, Inc. will report third quarter results on or about November 19, 2009.
FINANCIAL TABLES
Download financial tables related to the sales and earnings for the second quarter ended August 1, 2009:
Consolidated Statements of Operations (11 KB)
Consolidated Balance Sheets (11 KB)
To read the tables, you will need Adobe Reader, available at no charge from Adobe. Click here to download Adobe Reader, and follow the step-by-step instructions.
|
