Blue Nile reports revenues and profits up in Q4 and 2012

Blue Nile Inc., the U.S. online diamond and jewelry seller, said revenues rose 21 percent in the final quarter of last year to $136.1 million.

Revenues for last year as a whole, jumped 15 percent to $400 million.

Blue Nile said net profit for the fourth quarter was $4.9 million.

The retailer reported that sales of non-engagement jewelry during the holiday sales season were lower than forecast, as spending by consumers dropped.

But the firm posted a 17-percent surge in net profit for the fourth-quarter, with the world's largest online seller of diamond engagement rings saying there had been “exceptional strength” in engagement ring sales.

For the first quarter of 2013, Blue Nile predicts sales in a range of $94 million-$100 million. Meanwhile, for all of this year, it foresees sales of $440 million-$470 million.

Blue Nile said it has been expanding its product range over the past year in a move to attract more customers.

Chief Executive Officer Harvey Kanter said, “In 2013, we will focus our energies on more understandable fashion trends across a broad array of price points.

"Our execution during quarter four finished off a great year of growth for Blue Nile in 2012. In each quarter, we accelerated the growth rates and we ended the year with the highest growth rates since 2007.

"In our core U.S. engagement business, we hit all of the key milestones we set for ourselves at the beginning of the year. Our engagement business had the highest level of growth in five years. The customer clearly told us, we have a place to shop for engagement [jewelry]."