Best Buy comparable sales miss on low demand for mobile devices

[November 19, 2015]  (Reuters) - Best Buy Co Inc, the No.1 U.S. consumer electronics chain, reported weaker-than-expected quarterly comparable sales due to weak demand for mobile phones and tablets and lower revenue from services such as repairs and extended warranties.

The company's shares fell nearly 9 in premarket trading on Thursday.

Best Buy said its same-store sales rose 0.5 percent in the third quarter, excluding the impact of installment billing plans. Analysts on average had expected a rise of 0.8 percent, according to research firm Consensus Metrix.

Best Buy said sales of TVs, desktop and notebook computers and cameras were also weak industry-wide.

The net income attributable to the company's shareholders rose to $125 million, or 36 cents per share, in the quarter ended Oct. 31 from $107 million, or 30 cents per share, a year earlier.

Excluding items, Best Buy earned 41 cents per share from continuing operations.

Revenue fell 2.3 percent to $8.82 billion.

Analysts had expected a profit of 35 cents per share and revenue of $8.83 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Best Buy shares were trading at $28.60 before the bell.

(Reporting by Ramkumar Iyer in Bengaluru; Editing by Kirti Pandey)

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