Barnes & Noble Not 'Giving Up' on Nook, Says CEO

Revenue in Barnes & Noble’s Nook segment fell 40 percent in Q4 to $52 million, the company said in an earnings report. Annual Nook revenue plummeted 48 percent to $264 million. Device and accessories sales dropped to $13 million for the quarter and $86 million for the full year, declining 48 percent and 67 percent on lower unit selling volume, said the company. Digital content sales were $40 million for the quarter and $177 million for the year, falling 37 percent from the year-ago quarter and 28 percent from the prior year on lower device unit sales, said the company. On Thursday's Q4 earnings call, CEO Mike Huseby called Nook’s relationship with Samsung for the Galaxy Tab 4 Nook “excellent,” while saying tablet sales industrywide -- “particularly those that are focused on reading” -- have dropped “fairly dramatically” in the past year. Q4 Nook margins improved on a higher mix of higher margin content sales, lower occupancy cost and higher device-related margins, said Chief Financial Officer Allen Lindstrom. Nook expenses, meanwhile, shrank $35 million for the quarter and $97 million for the year, he said. Nobody is “giving up” on Nook, said Huseby, saying the company is instead trying to improve on digital content and stabilize the revenue picture for content. Margin improved on a focus on content versus devices, said Huseby. He cited “substantial opportunities” to stem Nook losses, cautioning that will take time. Losses have improved in the past three years from nearly $500 million to $218 million to $86 million, he said.