Blue Nile, Inc. reported in its financial results for its second quarter ended July 3, 2016,    that net sales increased to US$ 113.8 as compared to US$ 113.7 million for the second quarter ended July 5, 2015.

“Operating income for the quarter totaled US$ 3.3 million, representing an operating margin of 2.9% of net sales, compared to US$ 3.4 million in operating income and 3.0% operating margin for the second quarter 2015,” the Company declared.

The Company’s net income for the period amounted to US$ 2.1 million, as compared to US$ 2.3 million in the same period of the previous year. This marked a drop of 8.69%.

Net income per diluted share for Q2 2016 stood at US$ 0.18; also lower than that of Q2 2015 which amounted to US$ 0.20 per diluted share.

“Non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA for the quarter totaled US$ 5.6 million compared to US$ 5.7 million for the second quarter 2015,” Blue Nile elaborated. “For the trailing twelve month period ended July 3, 2016, net cash provided by operating activities totaled US$ 9.3 million compared to US$ 16.2 million for the trailing twelve month period ended July 5, 2015. For the trailing twelve month period ended July 3, 2016, non-GAAP free cash flow totaled US$ 4.7 million, as compared to US$ 12.1 million for the trailing twelve month period ended July 5, 2015.”

Harvey Kanter, Blue Nile Chairman, CEO and President commented: "Blue Nile continues to reimagine the retail experience by bridging the on and offline user experience through the Webroom concept, which will feature five locations by year end. Our results reflect a higher level of investment than we anticipated, and while this impacted short-term results, we believe it will create long-term scale and profitability."

Sales of engagements rings, a staple in the U.S., took a hit decreasing by 4.4% to US$ 62.6 million in the second quarter 2016, compared to sales amounting to US$ 65.5 million for the same period in the previous year.

Non-engagement net sales in the US, however, showed an increase of 5.9% to reach US$ 30.4 million for Q2 2016 versus US$ 28.7 million for Q2 2015.

International net sales for the period were higher by 6.4% y-o-y at US$ 20.8 million; compared to US$ 19.5 million for the second quarter of 2015. “Excluding the impact from changes in foreign exchange rates, international net sales increased 9.4%,” the Company noted.

Blue Nile reported that at the end of the second quarter 2016, cash and cash equivalents totaled US$ 36.6 million.