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B&N posts 3Q loss
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November 16, 2000: 11:02 a.m. ET
Bookseller's results dragged down by Babbage's unit, online investments
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - No. 1 U.S. book seller Barnes & Noble Inc. posted a loss for its fiscal third quarter Thursday, dragged down by its investments in Barnesandnoble.com and its Babbage's Etc. video game and software unit.
The New York-based retailer lost $5.2 million, or 8 cents per diluted share, for the quarter ended Oct. 28, including the company's investments in separately traded Barnesandnoble.com (BNBN: Research, Estimates). That compares with a profit of $3.4 million, or 5 cents per share, in the year-earlier period.
 Excluding the investment in Barnesandnoble.com, the company narrowed its pro forma net loss to 4 cents per diluted share. That figure slightly beat the consensus estimate of a 5-cent per-share loss, according to analysts polled by earnings tracker First Call Corp.
Third-quarter sales increased 33 percent to $951.8 million.
In early trading Thursday, Barnes & Noble (BKS: Research, Estimates) stock gained 44 cents to $19.25.
The company said the newly acquired Babbage's division had been expected to post net losses for the first nine months of the year because of the seasonality of the retail business and amortization expenses. The company said it continues "to have an optimistic outlook" for the books and video divisions for the key fourth quarter, which includes holiday sales, and for 2001.
For the first nine months of the fiscal year, Barnes & Noble lost $18 million, or 28 cents per share, compared with a profit of $21 million, or 29 cents per share, for the first nine months of 1999. Sales rose 28 percent to $2.77 billion. 
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Barnes & Noble
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