The nation's largest bookseller reported that net income increased to $13.5 million, or 18 cents a share, during the quarter ending July 30, up from $8.7 million, or 12 cents a share one year earlier. Those earnings were below the 20 cents a share predicted by analysts for the quarter. Sales for the three-month period were $1.17 billion, up 6.4% over the same period a year earlier and just short of the $1.18 billion predicted by analysts.
"On the whole, our balance sheet is the strongest ever with minimal outstanding," Joseph Lombardi, the bookseller's chief financial officer.
Rowling's latest Harry Potter book helped bolster the company's sales figures with $1.3 million in sales during its first week on the market. But the book, which sold for 40% off its cover price, only accounted for 3% of the national chain's sales at stores open for at least a year. Barnes & Noble also said it did not have any adult blockbusters in the second quarter on the scale of last year's hits such as Bill Clinton's autobiography "My Life" and the Dan Brown mystery-thriller "The Da Vinci Code."
The company, which operates 673 Barnes & Nobles superstores, said it expects to post a loss of 1 cent to 4 cents a share for the next quarter due to the opening of a 1.1-million-sf distribution center but said it would for the first time be paying a dividend of 15 cents per share to shareholders of record as of Sept. 9.
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