Borders Profits Decrease Despite Harry Potter Debut

London, Although the wildly popular Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was the highest-selling book in history for Borders this summer, Borders Group Inc. saw a sales slump at stores in the United Kingdom, which led to a decrease in profits. The company said one of the reasons for the decrease was the deep discounts offered on the Harry Potter book.

Borders had a net loss of $4 million, or 6? per share for the first six months of the fiscal year. Last year for the same period, the retailer had a net income of $10.2 million, or 13? per share.