Sotheby's enjoys profits leap

Sotheby's, the world's largest publicly traded auction house, posted a higher-than-expected fourth-quarter profit, helped by a higher auction commission margin and cost cuts.

By The Newsroom

Published 2nd Mar 2010, 12:16 BST

Updated 2nd Mar 2010, 12:16 BST

For the fourth quarter ended December 31, the auctioneer swung to a net income of $73.6m (49m), or $1.09 a share, compared with a net loss of $9.3m, or 14 cents a share, a year earlier.

Revenue rose 31 per cent to $218.3m.

Analysts on average were looking for a profit of 67 cents a share on revenue of $201.1m, according to Thomson Reuters.

The auctioneer, which competes with privately held Christie's, said total expenses fell 28 per cent to $119.4m and its auction commission margin rose to 20.4 per cent from 16.0 per cent.

Shares of New York-based Sotheby's, which have risen 33 percent since it reported third-quarter results and flagged an art market recovery, were trading at $24.54 yesterday, up from Friday's close of $24.30 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Sotheby's New York