Customers browse at a Chapters/Indigo store.Sami Siva
Indigo Books and Music Inc. said Monday its profits in its latest financial year were up compared with a year ago, helped by higher sales.
The book retailer said it earned $34.9-million, or $1.39 per diluted share, for the financial year ended April 3 compared with a profit of $30.7-million, or $1.21 per diluted share, the previous year.
Revenue totalled $968.9-million, up from $940.4-million.
Comparable store sales at Indigo and Chapters superstores gained 0.6 per cent, while Coles and Indigo Spirit stores saw a 2.2 per cent drop.
Indigo's sales online were down 4.8 per cent.
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"We are pleased with our bottom line improvement, particularly since we invested significant capital and operating expense in Kobo, our digital reading initiative," chief executive officer Heather Reisman said in a statement.
"The last quarter was a challenging one for us, with no blockbuster hit to compete with last year's over-the-top success of Stephanie Meyer. Our store traffic was also down materially during the two weeks of the Olympics as Canadians stayed home to cheer on our athletes."