Sotheby’s reported today that profit for the second quarter of the year fell 15 percent compared to the same time last year, even while sales rose, blaming the dissonance on expenses.
Profit fell to $77.6 million from $91.7 million for the same period of last year.
The company had announced “modest” layoffs, but over at Bloomberg, Katya Kazakina reports that this year’s proxy battle with hedge-funder Dan Loeb cost the house $24.3 million, or $2.3 million more than the $22 million Loeb-motivated cost reduction announced earlier this year.