Following a soft back-to-school sales quarter last year, Barnes & Noble Education reported that total sales rose only 5.3% in the quarter ended October 30, 2021 over the comparable period a year ago. Total sales were $627 million. Net income had a better performance, increasing to $22.5 million from $7.5 million in last year’s second quarter.
B&NE said that while results benefitted from students returning to in-person classes and more campus events and sporting activities, sales were negatively impacted by “the ongoing Covid-19 environment, including overall enrollment declines [and] many community colleges continuing to offer virtual classes.” In addition, labor shortages and general supply chain issues as well as inflation also hurt results.
As is always the case, B&NE’s retail group accounted for the majority of its sales and revenue increased 5.6% in the quarter, to $608.9 million. The company said comparable textbook sales were flat with a year ago, which had fallen 19% compared to the second quarter of fiscal 2020. A 78.3% jump in comparable general merchandise sales as well as higher sales of B&NE’s First Day offerings (an inclusive access program) offset the flat textbook sales.
Sales in the company’s wholesale division dropped 40.5% compared to last year’s second quarter, to $21.7 million, which B&NE said reflected the lack of on campus buyback opportunities and lower student demand.
In the digital services solution segment, sales rose 39.2% in the quarter, to $8.3 million, driven by its main product, Bartleby, which had 120,000 subscribers in the quarter, a 33% increase over last year’s second period.
For the first half of fiscal 2022, total sales rose 8.5%, to $867.8 million, and the net loss was cut to $21.8 million from $39.1 million in the first six months of fiscal 2021. The company continued to offer a tempered financial forecast, projecting that it expects to have positive adjusted EBITDA in the current fiscal year with adjusted EBITDA expected to reach pre-Covid levels in fiscal 2023.
