B&N sales drop 3.1% in fiscal 2016

US bookselling chain Barnes & Noble’s financial statements for the fiscal year ending 30 April show a 3.1% drop in sales and a negative net income, reports Publishers Weekly. Revenue fell from US$4.3bn (A$5.72bn) in fiscal 2015 to US$4.16bn (A$5.53bn), with the drop attributed to lower Nook sales, store closures and declining online sales. The bookseller also posted a net loss of US$24.4m (A$32.45m) in fiscal 2016 compared to a net income of US$36.6m (A$48.67m) in the previous year, attributed mostly to losses from closed stores. The Nook division was down 27.4% in revenue to US$191.5m (A$254.67m) and the retail division was down 1.9% in revenue, with its net income hit by a number of one-off charges, including a pension settlement charge and a severance charge related to the spinoff of Barnes & Noble education. Barnes & Noble said it expects bookstore sales to stay ‘approximately flat’ with an expected increase of one percent.

Category: International news