[intro]66% Drop in Auction Sales; Private Sales Up; Commission Margins Up[/intro]

Sotheby’s announced second quarter results today. The company is trying to stay focused on the positive information–lower costs (39%), higher sell-through rates (something the house has focused diligently upon) and a slim profit:

• Consolidated** sales of $1.2 billion for the six months
• Aggregate auction sales of $994.8 million for the six months
• Private sales up 46% for the quarter to $134 million;  private sales of $198.4 million for    the six months
• 2nd Quarter income of  $12.2  million
• Improvement in sell- through rates by lot from 64.3% in November to 85.2% in June in our evening Impressionist and Modern Art sales.
• Improvement in sell- through rates by lot from 68% in November to 92.5% in June in our evening Contemporary Art sales.