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US bookseller Barnes & Noble has announced that its total sales have decreased by 5% to $1.2bn for the company’s second quarter ending 1st August. Online sales were up 2%, compared to the previous year, to $102m for the period. Yet, store sales for the second quarter decreased by 5% to $1bn and like-for-like sales decreased by 6.9%.
The company said it had expected to see a decrease of between 5-7%, and expects full-year like-for-like store sales to decline by between 3-5%. It added that store sales for the third quarter were expected to decline between 1-3%.
Chief executive officer Steve Riggio, said: "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." Riggio added: "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."
Net earnings for the second quarter were $12.3 million, or $0.21 per share, but these included an after-tax cash benefit of $4 million (or $0.07 per share) from an insurance settlement. Without this extra benefit, second quarter net earnings would have been $0.14 per share. This 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.
As of 1st August 2009 the company operated 724 Barnes & Noble stores and 50 B. Dalton stores. But during the second quarter, one Barnes & Noble store was opened and three were closed, while one B. Dalton store was closed.
Barnes & Noble recently signed a deal to acquire Barnes & Noble College Booksellers as reported in The Bookseller here.