Borders' loss widens in 3Q as sales decline

Nov 25th, 2008 | ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Bookseller Borders Group Inc. says its third-quarter loss widened because of falling sales, falling short of analyst estimates.

Borders reported a net loss of $175.4 million, or $2.90 per share, compared with $161.1 million, or $2.74 per share in the same quarter of last year. That includes charge of more than $133 million for tax and asset impairments.

Excluding charges, Borders says its loss was 64 cents per share.

The company says revenue dropped to $693.4 million, from $765.2 million in the same quarter last year.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected a loss of 50 cents per share, on average, on revenue of $726.5 million for the quarter.

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