Barnes & Noble loss narrows

New York – Barnes & Noble Inc. beat Wall Street expectations, sharply reducing its loss even as sales fell.



The bookseller reported a net loss of $19.42 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2015, down from a loss of $36.7 million in the year-ago period. Reductions in selling, general and administrative (SG&A) and interest expenses, as well as lower depreciation and amortization, drove the decline in net loss.



In the Nook e-reader segment, cost rationalization efforts helped significantly reduce losses. Consolidated revenues dropped 10% to $1.18 billion from $1.32 billion.



“We ended 2015 with an improved balance sheet, and also well positioned to move forward with a focus on operations and our customers,” said Michael P. Huseby, CEO of Barnes & Noble.



For the fiscal year, Barnes & Noble swung to net earnings of $36.6 million, compared to a net loss of $47.3 million the same period a year earlier. Consolidated revenues decreased 5% to $6.07 billion from $6.38 billion.



Looking ahead, Barnes & Nobile expects to separate the Barnes & Noble Inc. and Barnes & Noble Education businesses by the end of August, allowing each business to independently focus on their growth initiatives. For fiscal year 2016, Barnes & Noble expects retail core same-store bookstore sales, which exclude sales of Nook products, to increase approximately 1%, while college same-store sales are also expected to increase approximately 1%.