Sotheby’s Posts $57m Income in Q2

Sotheby’s reported on Monday a $57.3 million net income in the second quarter of 2018 - a decrease of $19.6 million, or about 26 percent, in comparison to the same period in 2017, when the auction house announced that it had brought in $76.9 million.

It attributed the drop partially to a change in the auction calendar, with some Hong Kong sales taking place in the first quarter instead of the second, and to a decrease in its auction commission margin, Artnews reported.

Consolidated sales rose 22% to $3.5 billion - some of the highest totals in the company’s history, according to a release. However, there was a decline in its auction commission margin, it said, because a competitive environment for high-value lots resulted in “a higher level of auction commissions shared with consignors in these situations.”

Mike Goss, Sotheby’s CFO, explained, “When looking at this year’s second quarter results, one needs to consider the shift in the timing of certain Hong Kong sales from the second quarter of 2017 to the first quarter in 2018.”