Books-A-Million has filed its long-delayed Form 10-Q with the SEC for the quarter ended July 30.
Despite internal auditing questions related to the Sarbanes Oxley Act's requirements, most of the numbers in the Form 10-Q are the same as those announced in brief in August. (The 2002 law aims to reduce corporate financial fraud.)
To reiterate: in the quarter, net sales rose 7.9% to $122.4 million and gross profit rose 9.9% to $34.1 million. Sales at stores open at least a year rose 4.4%, mostly attributable to higher book sales, "primarily driven by the release of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince as well as strong sales in categories such as children's, history, teen fiction, cooking, humor and inspirational." Similarly BAM attributed a 4.5% rise in e-commerce sales ($6.6 million in the quarter) to "higher bestseller order volume, including Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince." In the e-commerce area, the company noted that although revenue increased, operating income was relatively flat because of strong price competition online.
The company shed slightly more light on its accounting problems, saying that in its internal auditing, it found "significant deficiencies" in three area relating to accounts payable: "inadequate controls over the data used to perform costs of goods sold calculations; inadequate segregation of duties for accounts payable management; and inadequate independent verification of expense invoice payment supporting documentation."
Operating, selling and administrative expenses rose to $26.8 million, up $2.2 million, primarily because of higher costs related to meeting the requirements of the Sarbanes Oxley Act: "increased staffing for internal audit and outside professional fees."
In other news in the 10-Q, BAM said that during the first half of its fiscal year, it opened four stores, relocated one, remodeled 13 and closed three. During the last half of the fiscal year--through January--the company plans to open three to five stores, remodel five to 10 and close one to two stores.
Despite internal auditing questions related to the Sarbanes Oxley Act's requirements, most of the numbers in the Form 10-Q are the same as those announced in brief in August. (The 2002 law aims to reduce corporate financial fraud.)
To reiterate: in the quarter, net sales rose 7.9% to $122.4 million and gross profit rose 9.9% to $34.1 million. Sales at stores open at least a year rose 4.4%, mostly attributable to higher book sales, "primarily driven by the release of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince as well as strong sales in categories such as children's, history, teen fiction, cooking, humor and inspirational." Similarly BAM attributed a 4.5% rise in e-commerce sales ($6.6 million in the quarter) to "higher bestseller order volume, including Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince." In the e-commerce area, the company noted that although revenue increased, operating income was relatively flat because of strong price competition online.
The company shed slightly more light on its accounting problems, saying that in its internal auditing, it found "significant deficiencies" in three area relating to accounts payable: "inadequate controls over the data used to perform costs of goods sold calculations; inadequate segregation of duties for accounts payable management; and inadequate independent verification of expense invoice payment supporting documentation."
Operating, selling and administrative expenses rose to $26.8 million, up $2.2 million, primarily because of higher costs related to meeting the requirements of the Sarbanes Oxley Act: "increased staffing for internal audit and outside professional fees."
In other news in the 10-Q, BAM said that during the first half of its fiscal year, it opened four stores, relocated one, remodeled 13 and closed three. During the last half of the fiscal year--through January--the company plans to open three to five stores, remodel five to 10 and close one to two stores.