Along with announcing a 3-for-2 stock split, Brookstone Inc. posted a loss yesterday of $2.3 million for its second quarter ended Aug. 2. The loss included $1.1 million for what it called “the settlement of certain outstanding legal matters.”
This compares with a $2.2 million loss in last year's second quarter.
Excluding the settlement costs, Brookstone's second-quarter 2003 adjusted net income improved 38 percent over 2002.
The stock split is in the form of a 50 percent stock dividend that will be paid Sept. 23 to shareholders of record as of Sept. 2.
Total company sales for the 13-week period rose 13 percent to $80.5 million from $71.2 million for second-quarter 2002. Same-store sales for the quarter climbed 7.8 percent.
Direct marketing sales rose 10.9 percent to $14 million on a 12.5 percent circulation increase.
Year-to-date, total company sales climbed 10.6 percent to $141.4 million for the 26 weeks ended Aug. 2. Same-store sales for the comparable 26-week period rose 7 percent. Direct marketing sales jumped 5.1 percent to $24.1 million.
The year-to-date net loss narrowed to $8.7 million, compared with a net loss in the first six months of 2002 of $8.8 million.
Brookstone, Nashua, NH, said that given the seasonal nature of specialty retailing, the company generally carries a loss through the first three quarters and makes its profit in the fourth quarter.
“The direct marketing segment performed very well, led by the Internet and the success of the Brookstone catalog and its key role in our strategy to generate additional revenue throughout all of our sales channels,” chairman/president/CEO Michael Anthony said in a statement. “Based on the success of our test program over Father's Day, we plan to more than double the circulation of the Brookstone catalog in the fourth quarter to target high-value customers who use the catalogs as a call to action to buy products through our direct marketing channels, and/or to make a destination purchase at one of our stores.”
