Sotheby's experiences surprisingly high loss

Sotheby's, the second-largest auction house in the world after Christie's, surprised financial markets with the report of a loss of 12.4 million U.S. dollars in the 1st quarter of 2008. Although the 1st quarter is traditionally and seasonally weak due to the below-average number of auctions, a 24.3 million U.S. dollars profit was achieved last year in the same period. There was also a fall in the commission turnover from 147.4 million to 129.3 million U.S. dollars. Cited reasons for decline were lower deposit commissions, the decline in income from guarantees, and increased personnel costs. Sotheby's responded to consignor margin erosion by increasing the buyer´s commission.

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