MAIN NEWS HEADLINES
September 1-15, 2004 Edition
BAM Sales Up
Slightly, Profits
Rise Significantly
NEW YORK, NY/08/19/04Books-A-Million ended its second quarter with a better-than-expected increase of 0.9 percent to $114.1 million. But net income declined from $1.4 million to $1 million for the period.
Sales were bolstered by a strong showing in the biography category, including the book, My Life, and by strong fiction sales.
BAM will open four to six new outlets this year in cities where it already has a presence. During this reporting period, the company opened one superstore and closed one Bookland store.
Sales in the early part of the year were battered by Hurricane Charley, forcing BAM to shut down about 20 stores for nearly a full weekend.
Sales for the first half of 2004 increased by 5.2 percent to $222.6 million. Net earnings reached $2.2 million, up dramatically from earnings of $319,000 for the same six months last year.
As a result of strong earnings, BAM will begin paying a quarterly dividend of 3 cents per share to shareholders of record September 14. A one-time dividend of 12 cents per share will also be issued next month.
