Varsity Group completed its most important quarter of the year with solid increases in sales and earnings. For the third period ended September 30, revenue rose 49%, to $32.1 million, and net income, including a $1.9-million tax benefit, jumped to $7.3 million from $3.8 million. The operator of online school bookstores attributed the improved results to the increase (from 210 to 315) in the number of schools taking part in its eduPartners program. The company shipped more than one million textbooks in the quarter. For the first nine months of the year, revenue rose 51%, to $35 million, and net income was $7.5 million, compared to $3.3 million.
Varsity chairman Eric Kuhn said the company is continuing to explore ways to leverage its assets, which he identified as a "rapidly growing base of school and individual customers, considerable cash reserves and a strong balance sheet." One new area for Varsity this year has been taking over the operation of bricks-and-mortar stores. During the quarter, Varsity operated two on-campus stores.
