HSN Sees 1Q Bump in Profit

-- Home Textiles Today, 5/10/2010 12:00:00 AM

St. Petersburg, Fla. —

Up against comparisons to its worst quarter of 2009, HSNi reported a robust jump in profits along with solid sales gains.

Net income for the first quarter ended March 31 was $17.65 million, or 30 cents per share, up substantially from $2.95 million, or 5 cents per share. Sales climbed 9% to $683.2 million, with sales at HSN.com up 15% thanks to improvements in both traffic and conversion.

Sales on the company's television shopping channel were strongest in wellness, electronics and fashion. The catalog division's sales rose 6%, driven largely by activity at Frontgate, Ballard Designs and Garnet Hill — the division's strongest performance since the fourth quarter of 2007, executives said during the company's analyst call last week.

“We are shifting our thinking to an ecommerce model with the magazines at marketing vehicles,” said Mindy Grossman, ceo, adding that Garnet Hill does 70% of its business online.