Corporate Overview     Management     News Releases     Public Filings     Code of Conduct and Ethics

News Releases

Please enter your email address to receive future news release notifications .

E-mail:

Brookstone Announces Second-Quarter 2005 Earnings

MERRIMACK, N.H., Aug 18, 2005 -- Product development company and specialty retailer Brookstone, Inc. (BKST) today announced earnings for the second quarter of 2005. Results in this release relating to the Company's Gardeners Eden brand are reflected as discontinued operations.

For the 13-week period ended July 30, 2005, Brookstone reported a net loss of $5.7 million, or $0.28 per diluted share. This compares to a net loss of $465,000, or $0.02 per diluted share in the second quarter of 2004. The Company announced plans to divest its Gardeners Eden business on June 29, 2005. The second quarter loss for 2005 includes a write-off of the intangible assets of Gardeners Eden, as well as related severance costs, totaling $4.1 million, or $0.12 cents per diluted share. Excluding these Gardeners Eden costs, the net loss for the quarter was at the better end of previously issued comparable guidance of $0.16 to $0.19 loss per diluted share.

For the 26-week period ended July 30, 2005, Brookstone reported a net loss of $12.5 million, or $0.61 per diluted share compared to a net loss of $5.1 million or $0.25 per diluted share for the comparable period in Fiscal 2004.

Total sales for the second quarter decreased 6.6 percent to $87.5 million, while same-store sales decreased 10.0 percent, in each case when compared to the same period in 2004. Direct-Marketing sales decreased 1.7 percent to $13.1 million on a 10.8 percent reduction in catalog circulation.

Total sales for the 26-week period ended July 30, 2005 decreased 2.2 percent to $164.3 million compared to the same period in 2004. Same-store sales decreased 7.3 percent compared to last year. Year to date Direct- Marketing sales climbed 5.7 percent to $24.0 million on a 4.3 percent increase in catalog circulation.

Because of the seasonal nature of specialty retailing, Brookstone generally carries a loss over the first three quarters and makes its profit for the year in the fourth quarter.

As previously announced, Brookstone has signed a definitive merger agreement which was amended as of July 15, 2005 to be acquired by a consortium led by OSIM International Ltd., J.W. Childs Associates L.P. and Temasek Capital (Private) Limited. Under the terms of the amended merger agreement, following approval by Brookstone's shareholders and the satisfaction or waiver of other customary conditions including the receipt of regulatory approvals at the effective time of the merger, each outstanding share of Brookstone's common stock will be converted into the right to receive $20.00 in cash.

Brookstone, Inc. is a specialty retailer that operates 291 Brookstone Brand stores nationwide and in Puerto Rico. Typically located in high-traffic regional shopping malls and airports, the stores feature unique and innovative consumer products. The Company also operates five stores under the Gardeners Eden Brand, and a direct marketing business that consists of three catalog titles -- Brookstone, Hard-to-Find Tools and Gardeners Eden -- as well as e- commerce web sites at http://www.brookstone.com/ and http://www.gardenerseden.com.

Statements in this release which are not historical facts, including statements about the Company's confidence or expectations, earnings, anticipated operations of its e-commerce sites and those of third-party service providers, and other statements about the Company's operational outlook are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 ("Reform Act") and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in such forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, risks of changing market conditions in the overall economy and the retail industry, consumer demand, the effectiveness of e-commerce technology and marketing efforts, availability of products, availability of adequate transportation of such products, and other factors detailed from time to time in the Company's annual and other reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Words such as "estimate", "project", "plan", "believe", "feel", "anticipate", "assume", "may", "will", "should" and similar words and phrases may identify forward-looking statements. Statements about a possible sale or divestiture of its Gardeners Eden business constitute forward-looking statements. Any statements in this release made in connection with the merger are not forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Reform Act. The Company may not be able to complete a divestiture on acceptable terms because of a number of factors, including failure to reach agreement with a purchaser. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date thereof. The Company undertakes no obligations to publicly release any revisions to these forward-looking statements or reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof.


 Brookstone, Inc.
                     Consolidated Statement of Operations
                               ($ in thousands)
                                 (Unaudited)


                             Thirteen-weeks ended   Twenty-six weeks ended
                      July 30, 2005 July 31, 2004 July 30, 2005 July 31, 2004

    Net sales              $87,521      $93,749     $164,308     $167,999
    Cost of sales           59,915       60,930      114,797      113,238

    Gross profit            27,606       32,819       49,511       54,761

    Selling, general and
     administrative
     expenses               31,577       32,315       63,333       60,352

    Income (loss) from
     continuing operations (3,971)          504     (13,822)      (5,591)

    Interest (income)
     expense, net             (87)          209        (103)          445

    Income (loss) before
     taxes, other party
     interests in consolidated
     entities and
     discontinued
     operations            (3,884)          295     (13,719)      (6,036)

    Other party interests
     in consolidated entities  247          163          506          325

    Income (loss) before
     taxes and discontinued
     operations            (4,131)          132     (14,225)      (6,361)

    Income tax provision
     (benefit)             (1,575)           51      (5,470)      (2,446)

    Income (loss) from
     continuing operations (2,556)           81      (8,755)      (3,915)

    Discontinued operations,
     net of tax            (3,193)        (546)      (3,773)      (1,194)

    Net loss              $(5,749)       $(465)    $(12,528)     $(5,109)

    Basic and diluted loss per share:
    Income (loss) from
     continuing operations $(0.12)        $0.00      $(0.43)      $(0.19)
    Discontinued operations,
     net of tax             (0.16)       (0.02)       (0.18)       (0.06)
    Net loss               $(0.28)      $(0.02)      $(0.61)      $(0.25)

    Weighted average
     shares outstanding
     basic/diluted          20,389       20,203       20,376       20,118

                               Brookstone, Inc.
                     Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet
                               ($ in thousands)
                                 (Unaudited)


                              July 30, 2005   July 31, 2004  January 29, 2005
    Current Assets:
    Cash and cash equivalents       $46,613         $30,942       $86,205
    Receivables, net                  7,923           9,520         9,859
    Merchandise inventories          75,879          68,886        75,585
    Deferred income taxes, net       12,271           9,502         3,917
    Prepaid expenses                  7,315           6,998         6,045

    Total current assets            150,001         125,848       181,611

    Deferred income taxes, net        5,228           4,738         5,256
    Property, plant and equipment,
     net                             74,362          64,829        74,019
    Intangible assets, net              ---           3,988         3,853
    Other assets                      3,213           5,377         1,741

    Total assets                   $232,804        $204,780      $266,480

    Liabilities and Shareholders' Equity
    Current Liabilities:
    Accounts payable                $12,076         $15,356       $17,402
    Other current liabilities        29,224          26,192        46,500

    Total current liabilities        41,300          41,548        63,902

    Other long term liabilities      22,668          16,819        22,432
    Long term debt                    8,308           1,946         8,760

    Commitments and Contingencies

    Other party interests in
     consolidated entities            1,004           1,045         1,100

    Total shareholders' equity      159,524         143,422       170,286

    Total liabilities and
     shareholders' equity          $232,804        $204,780      $266,480

-0-
     Contact:
     Philip Roizin
     EVP of Finance and Administration
     (603) 880-9500

     Robert Fusco
     Investor Relations
     (603) 880-9500