Barnes&Noble.com writes another sorry chapter
The online bookseller falls woefully short of analysts' estimates in its fourth quarter and says it will lay off 350 employees.
In the quarter, Barnes&Noble.com posted a pro forma loss of $54.2 million, or 36 cents a share, on sales of $104.6 million.
First Call consensus expected it to lose only 31 cents a share.
Tom Courtney, an analyst at Banc of America Securities, said he was expecting sales of $107 million in the quarter.
"To be honest, we're not really even covering these guys anymore," he said. "As a standalone stock, this story has run its course. We've had a 'market performer' rating on it forever."
For the fiscal year, it posted a pro forma loss of $158.2 million, or $1.07 a share, on sales of $320.1 million, compared with a loss of $102.4 million, or 77 cents a share, on sales of $193.7 million.
Company executives said it will shutter a processing center in New Jersey and a fulfillment center in Kentucky as part of its ongoing consolidation effort.
Barnes&Noble.com took a $75 million charge in the quarter relating to the impairment of certain equity investments and assets. It will also take a $5 million restructuring charge in the first half of 2001.
Chief Financial Officer Marie Toulantis told analysts during a conference call to expect sales of between $90 million and $100 million in the first quarter and $420 million and $475 million in the fiscal year.
Analysts were expecting sales of $507 million in the fiscal year and a loss of 75 cents a share.
Toulantis said it will likely post a loss of between 75 cents and 85 cents a share in the fiscal year.
She added that the company may need additional financing during the first half of 2002. It exited the quarter with $217 million in cash and no debt.
Gross profit margins jumped to 21.1 percent in the quarter, up from 14.1 million in the year-ago quarter when it lost $38.4 million, or 27 cents a share, on sales of $76.2 million.
Last quarter, Barnesandnoble.com posted a loss of $36.9 million, or 25 cents a share, on sales of $74.1 million.
The stock closed up 9 cents to $2.13 ahead of the earnings report before falling to $1.80 a share in after-hours trading.
In January, things got so bad that the stock garnered a rare "sell" recommendation from Prudential Securities analyst Mark Rowen.
All six analysts following the stock rate it either a "hold" or a "sell."
Barnes&Noble.com shares moved up to a 52-week high of $12.13 last February before falling to a low of $1.19 a share in December.