Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE:BKS) posted $6.1 million net losses or -$0.18 per share due to the weak performance of its Nook segment for the third quarter of fiscal 2013. During the same period in the previous year, the company reported earnings of $0.17 per share.
The company said its ts revenue declined by 8.8 percent to $2.2 billion during the quarter.
Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE:BKS) reported that its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) were $55 million, lower than its $150 million EBITDA during the same period a year earlier. The weak report could put some pressure on the company to sell some of its assets.
Leonard Riggio, founder, the company’s chairman and the largest shareholder of Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE:BKS) has recently expressed his intention to acquire all the assets of the retail business of the bookstore. The board of directors of the company created a strategic committee to evaluate the sale of its retail business. The committee is composed of three independent directors including David Golden, David Wilson and Patricia Higgins.
The company said there is no guarantee that the evaluation of Riggio’s proposal will result to a sale of its retail business or any form of transaction.
In addition, Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE:BKS) announced its strategic partnership with Pearson, which invested $89.5 million in Nook Media LLC preferred membership interests. Pearson’s investment amounts to a 5 percent stake in the subsidiary. The company said its holdings in Nook Media is at 78.2 percent and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) owns 16.8 percent.
Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE:BKS) had $214 million cash by the end of the third quarter. The company has no borrowings under its $1 billion revolving credit facility. Last year, the company incurred $74 million debt.
In a statement, William Lynch, chief executive officer of Barnes & Noble said, “In terms of the Nook Media business, we’ve taken significant actions to begin to right size our cost structure in the Nook segment.”
According to Lynch, the bookstore is taking a large mark down on Nook devices to enhance its ability to achieve sales prospects over the next quarters.
“We’re in the process of making some adjustments to our strategy as we continue to pursue the exciting growth opportunities ahead for us in the consumer and digital education content markets,” Lynch said.
For the FY 2013, Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE:BKS) expects a decline in its comparable bookstore sales to the low-to-mid single digits. The company estimated to achieve approximately $2.5 billion revenue from Nook Media.
