Friday May 9, 12:46 PM
Sotheby's swings to surprise 1Q loss on fall in auction commissions
LONDON (Thomson Financial) - Sotheby's Inc. said Friday it swung to a first-quarter loss of $12.4 million, or 19 cents a share from a profit of $24.3 million, or 37 cents a share in the same quarter a year ago.
The company
attributed the loss to a shortfall in auction commission revenues and higher operating expenses.
Revenue for the three-month period fell 12% to $129.3 million because of lower auction commission margins.
The mean estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters (TRI.TO - news) was for a profit of 10 cents a share on revenue of $141.4 million.
Sotheby's said the seasonal nature of the art auction market and the company's sales calendar mean its first and third quarters were expected to see losses.
In a bid to strengthen its revenue stream and profit margins, the company announced a change to its pricing structure, with a pricing change of 25% on the first $50,000 of hammer, 20% on the next $950,000 of hammer and 12% above hammer of $1 million, effective June 1st.
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