Blue Nile 2008 Sales $295.3 Million, Hurt by Tough Holiday Season

Blue Nile’s fourth quarter sales fell to $85.8 million Adjusted for the extra week in the quarter, quarterly sales declined 26.8 percent. Net income totaled $3.5 million compared to $7.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2007, falling 53.3 percent.

The online retailer posted an operating income for the quarter of $5.3 million, compared to $10.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2007.

For the full 53-week year, Blue Nile reported net sales of $295.3 million, compared to $319.3 million in the 52-week year of 2007, a decrease of 7.5 percent. Excluding sales from the additional week, net sales decreased 8.7 percent. Operating income totaled $16 million compared to $22.4 million in 2007. Annual net income for 2008 was $11.6 million compared to $17.5 million for 2007.

“The 2008 holiday season was the most challenging one for retailers in four decades, and our business was impacted by the pull back in consumer spending in this weak economic climate,” said CEO Diane Irvine. “Despite the difficult environment, we were able to achieve significant profitability and adjusted EBITDA, and, more importantly, strong relative performance for the year.

The company maintained a strong liquidity position and ended the year with cash and cash equivalents totaling $54.5 million.

International sales totaled $27.7 million in the full year, a 62.9 percent increase, and declined 4.2 percent to $6.9 million in the quarter.