In a January 7 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Hastings Entertainment indicated it expects total revenue for 2003 to be about $511 million and pre-tax net income to hit $6 million, reaffirming a late November estimate. The filing indicated that holiday sales were in line with projections. Last year, the company had total sales of $495.4 million. Books will account for about 23% ($117 million) of revenue in 2003, the second largest category after music.
Wall Street reacted well to the news, boosting the multimedia retailer's stock 12.6%, to $4.65, in higher-than-average volume on January 7. Hastings's stock fell 13.88% in 2003, closing at $4.23.
