Borders Group
The book retailer lost money for the third straight quarter as sales at its bookstores continued to decline, but the loss was smaller than a year ago.
Borders lost $38.5 million, or 64 cents a share, in the third quarter. That compares with a loss of $172.2 million, or $2.85 a share, during the same period a year earlier.
Revenue dropped 13 percent to $602.5 million.
Barnes & Noble
Borders’ rival posted a larger second-quarter loss than last year and lowered its profit forecast for this quarter in anticipation of weak holiday sales and the high cost of launching its electronic-book reader, the Nook.
The bookseller’s second-quarter loss totaled $24 million, or 43 cents a share. That compares with a loss of $16 million, or 34 cents a share, last year. Excluding costs related to purchasing its college-bookstore unit from its chairman, the loss totaled 30 cents a share.
Revenue rose 4 percent to $1.16 billion.
Hormel Foods
Advertising will increase next year to persuade cash- strapped shoppers to pay extra for its pricier items, such as microwave meals, as they keep looking for ways to cut costs in the downturn.
Hormel earned $103.9 million, or 77 cents a share, in the quarter ending Oct. 25. Revenue fell 10 percent to $1.68 billion.
According to Thomson Reuters, analysts predicted earnings of 68 cents a share on revenue of $1.82 billion.
Warner Music Group
The recording company posted an unexpected loss in the fourth quarter as severance costs weighed on results despite a strong slate of music releases from artists such as Jay-Z and Madonna.
Warner Music reported a fourth- quarter loss of $18 million, or 12 cents a share, compared with net income of $6 million, or 4 cents a share, a year ago. Revenue rose by nearly 1 percent to $861 million.
