In the tooth and claw battle for Sotheby’s board seats, the company needs every bit of good news. So today they gave a peek at their first quarter results which are scheduled to be released after the May 6th annual meeting:

For the first quarter of 2014, Sotheby’s expects to report that Net Auction Sales have increased by 40% from the prior year to approximately $730 million. This substantial improvement is primarily due to a $113 million, or 34%, increase in sales of Impressionist Art and Contemporary Art over the prior year.  Notably, Sotheby’s record setting Impressionist Art sales in London achieved the highest-ever total for any sales series held anywhere in London.  Reflecting this sales growth, Sotheby’s expects to report that pre-tax loss for the first quarter improved by 81% to approximately ($6) million, as compared to Sotheby’s pre-tax loss of ($32) million in the first quarter of 2013.