Barnes & Noble Nook business to sink deeper this year

From CNET News.com: Barnes & Noble announced yesterday that it expects a higher loss from its Nook business for fiscal 2013, which ends in April. The company didn't reveal specific numbers, but its EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) showed a loss of $262 million for fiscal 2012.

B&N also expects annual sales from the Nook segment to be less than $3 billion, a substantial drop from the $933 million in sales for fiscal 2012. Last year's sales were a hefty gain from the $695 million posted in fiscal 2011.

The Nook business includes the tablet, e-book reader, accessories, and digital content such as books and movies.

Last month, the company acknowledged that Nook sales for the holidays were much lower than expected. For the nine weeks ended December 29, Nook business revenues fell to $311 million, a 12.6 percent drop from the same period a year earlier. Though sales of digital content rose, Nook device sales were down.

Barnes & Noble has been looking to its Nook business to generate greater demand in the face of lower sales from its retail chains. But product development and marketing costs have risen, taking a bite out of the Nook's contributions, according to Reuters.

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