Barnes & Noble exceeded Wall Street estimates today, reporting that consolidated revenues had risen 2.5 percent to $1.5 billion in the fiscal 2013 first quarter compared to last year (analysts had predicted $1.48 billion in revenues).

As revenues rose, the company reported net loss of $41 million–loss declining 28 percent compared to last year. Barnes & Noble College bookstores recorded $221 million in revenues, a two percent decline from last year.

Here’s more about retail earnings, from the release: “The Retail segment, which consists of the Barnes & Noble bookstores and BN.com businesses, had revenues of $1.1 billion for the quarter, increasing 2% over the prior year … Comparable bookstore sales continued to benefit from the liquidation of Borders’ bookstores in fiscal 2012 and strong sales of the Fifty Shades of Grey series.”