HANDLEMAN GETS A HANDLE ON EARNINGS

Music supplier and merchandiser Handleman Company announced improved earnings for the first quarter of fiscal 2001, $1.7 million, or $.06 per diluted share. Its a huge gain compared to the $.7 million earned ($.02 per diluted share) for the first quarter of last year. Likewise, sales increased to $231.4 million, compared to $226.4 million for the same quarter last year.

Though the figures are for the company as a whole, Handleman has two operating unitsHandleman Entertainment Resources (H.E.R.) and North Coast Entertainment (NCE). H.E.R. consists of music category management and distribution operations in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Brazil and the UK. The units net sales were $207.7 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2001, compared to net sales of $200 million last year. And NCE, which encompasses Handlemans proprietory operations, had a net sales of $24.2 for the first quarter, compared to $28.6 million for the same period last year.

The company says the overall sales increase was primarily due to the inclusion of sales generated by Lifetime Entertainment Limited and not the popularity of the "William Shatner Sings The Hits album."