Borders Group reports higher 4th-quarter profit but revenue declines

Borders Group 4Q profit doubles but sales fall

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Book seller Borders Group Inc. says its fourth-quarter profit rose, boosted by an income tax benefit and cost cuts, even as its sales fell.

The nation’s second-largest traditional book seller also said Wednesday that it has repaid a $42.5 million loan from activist investor William Ackman’s investment firm Pershing Square, which is the company’s largest investor.

The deadline to repay the loan would have been Thursday.

Borders’ shares rose sharply in after-hours trading.

For the quarter that ended Jan. 30, the company earned $59.9 million, or 91 cents per share, more than double the $29.6 million, or 49 cents per share, it earned a year earlier.

Revenue fell 13 percent to $946.5 million from $1.09 billion.