Indigo Books & Music Inc. widely missed expectations as it swung to a nearly $40-million net loss for its 2019 financial year, partly due to the Canada Post strike and less consumer spending in the final quarter.
The Toronto-based company reported a net loss of $36.8 million or $1.35 per common share for the year ending March 30, compared with net earnings of $22 million or 82 cents per common share the previous year.
Revenue for the year dropped $32.8 million or three per cent to about $1.05 billion from roughly $1.08 billion the previous year.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters Eikon expected a net loss of $9.3 million or 34 cents per share on $1.065 billion of revenues.
Comparable sales, a key retail metric, dropped 1.1 per cent.
Revenue challenges arose from, among other things, a Canada Post strike, as well as a pullback in consumer spending on non-essential items in the fourth quarter.
The company says net loss for the quarter amounted to $23.8 million, compared with a $10.7-million loss last year.
Fourth-quarter revenues fell 7.5 per cent to $199.2 million, and comparable sales dropped 8.7 per cent.
Indigo was expected to earn $3.7 million in the quarter on $210.7 million in revenues.
CEO Heather Reisman says in a statement that “we have every confidence in the investments we have made, in our customers’ deep affection for our brand, and in our mission to enrich the lives of Canadians.”