Barnes & Noble Core Comparable Sales Up 1.6%; Reiterates FY Outlook

(RTTNews) - Barnes & Noble Inc. (BKS) reported sales for the nine-week holiday period ending January 2, 2016. Core comparable store sales, which exclude NOOK products, increased 1.6%, marking the second consecutive holiday increase.

"We are pleased with the performance of our bookstores during the holiday period, with core comparable store sales increasing 1.6% on top of a 1.7% increase a year ago," said Ron Boire, Chief Executive Officer of Barnes & Noble, Inc.

Retail sales, which include Barnes & Noble stores and BN.com, were $1.1 billion, decreasing 0.8% due to lower online sales and store closures. Comparable store sales, including NOOK products, increased 0.6% for the holiday period.

NOOK sales of $41.2 million decreased 25.8%. Digital content sales were $21.3 million and device and accessory sales were $19.9 million for the holiday period.

Based on the holiday sales results, the Company continues to expect fiscal 2016 core comparable store sales to increase approximately 1%, and comparable store sales to be approximately flat. The Company also continues to expect full fiscal year EBITDA losses in the NOOK segment to decline versus the prior year.

Barnes & Noble noted that it will report third quarter results on or about March 3, 2016.