On a per-share basis, company officials said yesterday they expect the final number to come in at between $1.61 and $1.62 for Q4, and $1.68-$1.69 for the full year. "These projected ranges are inclusive of the impact of lease-related accounting adjustments the company has made, which were not contemplated in previous guidance," CFO Ed Wilhelm told analysts.

While consolidated sales were a record, company officials admitted that per-store sales were "flattish." That's mostly because while sales at the Borders superstores were $2.59 billion for the full year, an increase of 4.8%, and the company's international store sales rose by 25.3% to $510.7 million Waldenbrooks continued to be a bit of a drag on the company. The division's full-year sales of just under $780 million were off by a full 5%.

Along those lines, Borders will "continue to test the conversion of Waldenbooks into Borders Express stores," according to CEO Greg Josefowicz, an experiment that began last year. He called the experiment "promising," and told analysts that as many as 75 to 100 Waldenbooks stores could be re-branded during the coming fiscal year.

Josefowicz also said that the company will open between 15 and 20 new Borders units on the domestic scene, as well as 10-12 new international stores, mostly in the UK and Australia. And the first Borders store in Malaysia, which will be operated by Berjaya Group Berhad, is slated to open in April. He also indicated the company would ramp up its efforts to expand its smaller stores group, including seasonal, airport and outlet units.

"We will also increase our capital expenditures, remodeling between 80 and 100 Borders superstores this year," Josefowicz said. "The remodeling program will include the addition of the Seattle's Best Coffee and Paperchase brands within the stores."

As for the bottom-line performance for 2005, company officials told analysts they're projecting consolidated earnings of between $1.85 and $1.92 per share, representing an increase of between 10% and 14% over 2004. Comparable stores sales are projected to rise "in the low single digits," according to Josefowicz.

"Overall, our financial performance in 2004 was in line with our long-term goals. Moving forward, we will build on the strategies that worked well in 2004, including a clear emphasis on books as the centerpiece of our customer offering," the CEO told analysts yesterday. Other than books, he termed DVD sales "good," and music sales "weak."

"This was another year of progress," Josefowicz said. "We will continue to manage prudently, with new store openings, and we will continue to focus on marketing our brand."

In a related announcement, company officials said the board of directors has approve a new company stock repurchase authority, making available $250 million+ proceeds and tax benefits from stock option exercises for the purchase of common stock. Purchases will primarily be made through open-market transactions subject to market conditions and trading.