Barnes & Noble Q1 Loss Widens; Chairman Riggio Ends Attempt To Buy Retail Opns.

(RTTNews) - Barnes & Noble, Inc. (BKS) recorded a wider first-quarter net loss available to common shareholders of $91.72 million, or $1.56 per share, versus a $44.09 million, or $0.76 per share loss, in the prior-year quarter.

The company attributed the results to EBITDA decline, as well as higher income tax expense. The company also recorded a non-cash valuation allowance against certain deferred tax assets. The impact of this item on first quarter results was $41 million, or $0.70 per share. Excluding this tax item, first-quarter losses would have been $0.86 per share, Barnes & Noble said.

Quarterly sales reached $1.33 billion, compared with $1.45 billion reported a year before.

On average, 5 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected loss per share of $0.89 on $1.32 billion in revenue for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude one-time items.

In addition, the firm said its Chairman, Leonard Riggio, has suspended his efforts to make an offer for the company's Retail business. Riggio expressed a plan to make such an offer when he amended his Schedule 13D on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission in February.

Further, Barnes & Noble backed its annual guidance, in which it expects Retail comparable store sales to decline in the high single digits and College comparable store sales to decline in the low single digits. The company also sees full-year Core Retail comparable bookstore sales to decline in the low- to mid-single digits.