Hastings Entertainment reported that comparable-store sales of books rose 4.7% in the third quarter ended October 31, and were up 4.9% for the first nine months of the year. Total revenue for the retailer increased 7.2% in the quarter, to $110.6 million, but the company's net loss increased to $6.6 million from $5.5 million in last year's third period. Hastings attributed the bigger loss to lower-than-expected sales of music and software plus higher-than-expected returns.
Given current market conditions, Hastings's chief financial officer, Dan Crow, said the company was significantly downgrading its profit projections for the full year. Crow said the company now expects to earn 13 cents to 18 cents per share, compared to the original forecast of 38 cents to 43 cents per share. Hastings's stock price dropped 16.6% on November 20, the day the results were released, to close at $4.44.
