Barnes & Noble, the US high street and online bookseller, has warned that the slowdown in the book trade since 11 September means its profits will fall this year.

The company said that profits for the full year are likely to be between $1.08 and $1.12 a share, about a third lower than analysts had been expecting.

The problem, according to the company, was that ever since the attacks on New York and Washington DC, the fear of further attacks had hampered the passing trade on which the book business depends.

The dearth of customers was particularly bad around the 31 October Halloween holiday, it said, which had seen fears of renewed attacks higher than ever.

Blanket coverage

In addition, the near-blanket coverage of the US bombing of Afghanistan was also hitting trade, by reducing the space in the media for other items.

"Problematic is the lack of media exposure for authors amid the din of crisis coverage," said Barnes & Noble's chairman and chief executive, Leonard Riggio.

Nearly all the of company's profits - $1.04-$1.08 a share - will come from the book stores, with the remainder contributed by its online operation.