Blue Nile, the online retailer of diamonds and fine jewelry, has reported its financial results for its fourth quarter and fiscal year ended January 1, 2012.
Net jewelry and diamond sales for the fourth quarter decreased 2.1% to $112.3 million from $114.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2010, Israelidiamond.co.il reported. Operating income for the quarter was $6.3 million, compared to $9.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2010. Net income for the fourth quarter totaled $4.2 million.
For the full year, Blue Nile reported net sales of $348 million, compared to $332.9 million for the full year of 2010, an increase of 4.5%. Operating income for the full year was $16.9 million compared to $21.3 million in the prior year.
Net cash provided by operating activities totaled $15.4 million for the year.
Blue Nile CEO Vijay Talwar said that while the fourth quarter had been “challenging” due to weaker demand from high-end diamond customers, the company had implemented new strategy designed to accelerate growth.
As a result, the diamond company saw “positive momentum,” seeing new customer growth of 15%, with order growth of 22% and unit growth of 30% compared to Q4 2010, Talwar added.
The company also announced that on February 7, 2012, Blue Nile's Board of Directors authorized the repurchase of up to $100 million of the company's common stock over 24 months.
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