TORONTO, May 31 (Reuters) - Indigo Books & Music, Canada's largest book retailer, said on Monday its quarterly profit dropped 74 percent, hurt by expenses related to the launch of the Kobo e-reader.
Profit for the company's fourth quarter, ended March 10, was C$500,000 ($480,000), down from C$1.9 million a year earlier. The company did not disclose per-share results.
Revenue rose by about 6 percent over the year-before quarter, the company said, despite same-store sales that fell 2.7 percent at Indigo and Chapters superstores, and 5.8 percent at small-format Indigo Spirit stores.
'The last quarter was a challenging one for us,' Indigo Chief Executive Heather Reisman said in a statement, noting that store traffic suffered due to the Winter Olympics in February. The company said the higher expense from the Kobo launch should continue into the coming fiscal year.
On a full-year basis, the company earned C$34.9 million, or C$1.39 a share, compared with a year-before C$30.7 million, or C$1.21 a share.
Shares of Indigo fell 9 Canadian cents on Monday to close at C$15.01 on the Toronto Stock Exchange. The results were released after markets closed.
($1=$1.04 Canadian)
(Reporting by Cameron French; editing by Peter Galloway) Keywords: INDIGO/ (cameron.french@thomsonreuters.com; 416-941-8199: Reuters Messaging: cameron.french.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
Profit for the company's fourth quarter, ended March 10, was C$500,000 ($480,000), down from C$1.9 million a year earlier. The company did not disclose per-share results.
Revenue rose by about 6 percent over the year-before quarter, the company said, despite same-store sales that fell 2.7 percent at Indigo and Chapters superstores, and 5.8 percent at small-format Indigo Spirit stores.
'The last quarter was a challenging one for us,' Indigo Chief Executive Heather Reisman said in a statement, noting that store traffic suffered due to the Winter Olympics in February. The company said the higher expense from the Kobo launch should continue into the coming fiscal year.
On a full-year basis, the company earned C$34.9 million, or C$1.39 a share, compared with a year-before C$30.7 million, or C$1.21 a share.
Shares of Indigo fell 9 Canadian cents on Monday to close at C$15.01 on the Toronto Stock Exchange. The results were released after markets closed.
($1=$1.04 Canadian)
(Reporting by Cameron French; editing by Peter Galloway) Keywords: INDIGO/ (cameron.french@thomsonreuters.com; 416-941-8199: Reuters Messaging: cameron.french.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.