• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Login
  • Register

Publishers Lunch

The Publishing Industry's Daily Essential Read

  • Publishers Marketplace
  • Site Guide
  • Help

HBG USA Rises, As Hachette UK Struggles

February 7, 2012
By Michael Cader

Hachette Book Group USA had a sharp turnaround in the fourth quarter, with sales rising 12.8 percent (after falling 8 percent in the prior quarter), riding a “powerful performance” and an easier comparison to a year ago, when Stephenie Meyer sales had declined. But Hachette UK continues to struggle, down 4.5 percent for the fourth quarter (after falling 10 percent in the third quarter). The company blamed “tougher international market conditions (REDgroup’s bankruptcy in Australia),” even with UK rights to the Steve Jobs biography. Lagardere’s publishing division reported overall fourth quarter sales of 537 million euros, down 3.4 percent overall and 3.8 percent on a like-for-like basis versus 556 million euros a year ago (and 580 million euros two years ago).

Company revenues were down for the second fiscal year in a row, though the declines improved over the course of the year. They finished with sales of 2.038 million euros, down 5.9 percent overall and 4.4 percent on a like-for-like basis compared to 2.165 million euros a year ago. The division peaked in 2009 on the strength of Meyer, at 2.273 billion euros. (Sales are also behind 2008’s 2.13 billion euros, but ahead of their 1.975 billion euros in 2007.)

US digital sales ebbed during the course of the year, with ebooks comprising 20 percent of fourth quarter *adult trade* sales (the first time the company has used this more limited description), as they continued to nudge up in the UK, comprising 10 percent of adult trade sales. Total digital sales, including downloadable audio, comprised 22 percent of US sales for the year, according to a separate advisory. New devices in France still “have not triggered a breakthrough in the market yet.” For the full-year, ebooks comprised 6 percent of worldwide sales, or 122 million euros.

Companywide, however, Lagardere told investors they are facing impairment writedowns of up to 900 million euros, due to “the weak environment in global economy and in stock markets on the one hand, and the performances and prospects” of their sports division. They also took losses on shares in Canal + France. The company’s stock is down almost 6 percent on the writedown news.
Release

Filed Under: Earnings Reports, Free, International News, Publishers

sidebar

Primary Free Sidebar

Login


Forgot password
Quick Pass users click here to log in
Get Full Access
The publishing industry's essential daily read

Each Publishers Lunch Deluxe subscription includes full access to our searchable multi-year archive of industry news, a nightly email reporting 10 to 50 deal transactions, and our database of industry contacts, scripts, and posting privileges.

Learn More

RSS Automat

  • Noah Baumbach Said to Sell Memoir to Knopf June 5, 2023 Deadline
  • Rushdie: "I’m trying to write a book about the attack on me -- what happened and what it means, not just about the attack, but around it" June 2, 2023 Guardian
  • Hollywood Studios Are Using Force Majeure Clauses to Extend Book Options for Free During Writers' Strike May 30, 2023 WSJ
  • On the Staying Power of Zevin's Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow" May 26, 2023 NYT
  • Another Postponement: Publishers and Internet Archive Still Negotiating Judgement, Will Try Again for June 9 May 26, 2023 PL court document
  • Martin Amis, 73, Dies of Esophogeal Cancer May 21, 2023 BBC
  • Britney Spears Concedes Delay On Her Book: "It may take me a year, maybe longer who knows ... to share my story" May 20, 2023 Instagram
  • Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson Announced for Publication September 12 May 18, 2023 Press release
  • Penguin Random House and PEN America Sue a Florida School District, Alleging Removal of Books about Race and LGBTQ+ Identify Violates First Amendment May 17, 2023 AP
  • Thomas Coesfeld to Become CEO of BMG On July 1, Ahead of Previous Schedule May 17, 2023 Press Release
© 2023 Publishers Lunch. All Rights Reserved.