Barnes & Noble Swings to 2Q Profit

NEW YORK (AP) — Barnes & Noble reported a profit in the second quarter as it invested less in its Nook e-book reader and cost cuts offset lower sales.

Its sales missed expectations, however, and its shares dropped more than 3 percent in premarket trading.

The company has invested heavily in its Nook e-book reader and digital library, but it has scaled back amid tough competition from Amazon's Kindle and the Apple iPad. It introduced a new e-book reader, a $119 Nook GlowLight, for the holidays.

Net income for the three months ended Oct. 26 totaled $13.2 million, or 15 cents per share. That compares with a loss of $501,000, or 7 cents per share, last year.

Revenue fell 8 percent to $1.73 billion.

Analysts expected a loss of 3 cents per share on revenue of $1.76 billion.

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