NEW YORK — Despite a 27.5 percent sales gain, Bluefly Inc. said on Wednesday that it posted a widened loss for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31.
Bluefly’s loss grew to $3.5 million, or 3 cents a share, from $55,000, or 7 cents, in the year-ago quarter. The loss increased in part due to an increase in operating losses from stock-based compensation and an uptick in spending on marketing and advertising. The decrease in the loss per share for the current and year-ago quarters was due to a higher average share count in the current quarter, after preferred stock dividends. Sales rose to $27.1 million from $21.2 million last year.
For the year, the loss jumped to $12.2 million, or 23 cents, from $3.8 million, or 54 cents, a year ago. Sales for the year climbed 31.1 percent, to $77.1 million from $58.8 million in 2005.
“We are pleased by the company’s record revenue for the year,” Melissa Payner, chief executive officer of Bluefly, said in a statement. “Our strong growth in the face of slow cold-weather product sales throughout the industry is a testament to our continued progress and to the investment we have made in growing our customer file through our increased marketing efforts.”
During the fourth quarter, the company said its gross margin declined to 40.3 percent from 41.8 percent during the prior-year period, but for the year it rose to 40.1 percent from 39.1 percent in 2005.