International sales a priority for Blue Nile

by eyetee | May 5, 2008 12:00 am

Online diamond and jewellery retailer Blue Nile says it will continue to focus on building its international sales, as well as repurchasing stock in the coming years.

The announcement is part of the company’s annual report, which showed a 26.9 per cent increase in revenues to $319.3 million for the fiscal year ending Dec. 31, 2007.

Other highlights include:
• a net income increase of 33.6 per cent to $17.5 million;
• an adjusted EBITDA1 increase of 31.4 per cent to $29.9 million;
• a return on equity of 33.7 per cent, up from 22.2 per cent in 2006; and
• free cash flow for the year totalling $36.6 million.

Blue Nile said a portion of the cash generated in 2007 went toward buying back
$20 million worth of its stock, which brings repurchasing in the last three years to more than $95 million.

While company executives said the continued focus would be on international sales, they warned of softening consumer spending.

Last year, Blue Nile launched local currency websites serving Canada and the United Kingdom. The company also opened an operations centre in Dublin, Ireland, to service the local and European markets. The move doubled international sales in 2007 over 2006 to more than $17 million.

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