The American book industry got a faint glimmer of hope yesterday — and the operative word is faint — in the news that Barnes & Noble‘s first quarter sales didn’t exactly halt its “multi-quarter slide,” but they did beat Wall Street expectations, losing 4 cents per share, considerably “better than the loss of 15 cents per share analysts expected,” notes an Associated Press report by Sarah Skidmore. What’s more, says the report, “the bookseller raised its profit forecast.”
According to the AP, “Barnes & Noble’s management said improved customer service, better use of promotions and operational improvements boosted the quarter’s results, and they said strong book titles and its entrance into the electronic book format should help future results.”
As for continuing falling sales on its website, and fears that the growth of ebooks was hurting its sales, CEO Steve Riggio says the company is “well aware of the many players that exist in, as well as, are about to enter this arena,” and noted the company is currently “focused on its recent acquisition of Fictionwise and its entry into a larger e-book market.”
And Wall Street was happy: the report says “Investors welcomed the better-than-expected report, sending shares up 71 cents, or nearly 3 percent, to close at $24.60 Thursday.”