Sotheby’s, the publicly traded auctioneer of fine arts and collectibles, said fourth quarter profit fell 26 percent as sales slid.
The New York company’s net income fell to $71.5 million from $96.2 million a year earlier. It earned $1.04 a share, less than the average $1.25 estimate of six analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Quarterly revenue fell 11 percent, to $284 million.
A year earlier, Sotheby’s had its most profitable quarter since 2008.
Sotheby’s shares fell 62 cents Wednesday to $39.34 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. They’re up 38 percent this year, more than four times the gain of the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index. The shares declined 20 percent in the past 52 weeks.
The results were released Wednesday after the close of regular trading.
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