SkyMall sales slip, red ink returns

Jan. 2, 2002 4:43 p.m. PT

SkyMall Inc. (Nasdaq: SKYM) posted a first-quarter loss of $2.1 million, or 24 cents a share, on sales of $13.1 million. The stock closed up 3/8 to 13 ahead of the earnings report.

There was no First Call consensus estimate for the quarter.

The $13.1 million in sales represents a slight decline versus the year-ago quarter when it earned $74,000, or 1 cent a share, on sales of $13.2 million.

Of the $10 million in merchandise sales, only 8.3 percent came from its Web site skymall.com.

``Our results illustrate that we are beginning to change people's behavior when it comes to shopping,'' said CEO Robert Worsley in a prepared release. ``Our customer is increasingly shopping via the Web as opposed to other mediums."

Skymall shares surged to a high of 48 in December after trading at just 1 7/8 in October.>