NEW YORK (AP) — Barnes & Noble Inc., the nation’s largest bookstore chain, said Thursday its second-quarter profit fell 27 percent, but results beat analyst expectations as the company cut costs.
Profit for the three months ended Aug. 1 fell to $12.3 million, or 21 cents per share, from $16.8 million, or 27 cents per share last year. Excluding a benefit from an insurance settlement, net income was 14 cents per share. Analysts expected 9 cents per share and the company had predicted a range of 5 cents to 15 cents per share.
Selling and administrative expenses fell 4 percent during the quarter to $288.7 million.
Revenue fell 5 percent to $1.16 billion, matching analyst expectations. Sales in stores open at least one year — so-called same-store sales — fell 6.9 percent during the quarter.
Barnes & Noble and other booksellers have faced falling sales for some time as shoppers turn to online and discount booksellers. The recession has compounded the problem, with consumers severely limiting spending on discretionary items like books and music.
CEO Steve Riggio said the decline in retail traffic continues to hurt revenue but noted that online traffic increased slightly from a year ago.
Best sellers during the quarter included “Finger Lickin’ Fifteen” by Janet Evanovich, “The Help” by Kathryn Stockett, “The Defector” by Daniel Silva, “Twenties Girl,” by Sophie Kinsella and “Catastrophe” by Dick Morris.
The New York company expects same-store sales to fall 1 percent to 3 percent during in the third quarter and 3 percent to 5 percent for the year.
Barnes & Noble operates 724 Barnes & Noble stores and 50 B. Dalton stores.
