Amazon reported third quarter sales of $13.81 billion, up 27 percent from a year ago, but below analysts expectations. As forecast, they had a loss for the quarter, registering an operation loss of $28 million and a net loss of $274 million. $169 million of that loss was due to impairment charges against the unsuccessful LivingSocial investment. Guidance for the coming holiday quarter predicts a wide-ranging performance of anywhere between a loss of $490 million and profit of $310 million, and sales are forecast to grow between 16 percent and 31 percent. While those figures were lower than analysts had […]
Archives for October 2012
Pearson Admits Discussing Penguin-Random House Merger
As most readers know now, fanciful rumor changed to factual possibility on Wednesday morning when Pearson issued a brief statement responding to recent press accounts: “Pearson confirms that it is discussing with Bertelsmann a possible combination of Penguin and Random House. The two companies have not reached agreement and there is no certainty that the discussions will lead to a transaction. A further announcement will be made if and when appropriate.” Penguin Group ceo John Makinson followed the Pearson press release with a short cover note to Penguin employees soon thereafter, attaching the announcement “concerning a potential partnership.” Makinson acknowledged […]
People, Etc.
Effective immediately, Midpoint Trade will distribute print and digital editions of Bunker Hill Publishing, which publishes educational books in collaboration with museums and international research organizations. The Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize has gone to Frank Cottrell Boyce’s THE UNFORGOTTEN COAT. Take the Guardian’s headline “Amazon to be stripped of tax advantage on sale of ebooks” with a grain of salt. Just as the European Commission warned France about their lowered VAT rate, the EC has now threatened to take Luxembourg to court over their 3 percent VAT on digital services (well below the 15 percent rate that is supposed to […]
Profit Declines at Bloomsbury, As Digital Comprises 15% of Adult Division Sales
Bloomsbury reported results for the six months ending August 31, with continuing pre-tax profits falling 40 percent to £0.9 million, even as sales rose 2 percent to £43.5 million. With recent acquisitions the academic and professional division now comprises 28 percent of company sales, though “academic sales peak at the beginning of the academic year, in September and October.” Sales at the adult division were flat (and down 5 percent before acquisitions), while children’s and educational sales fell 23 percent and operating profit in that segment disappeared, blamed on the comparison to last year’s Harry Potter sales tying in to […]
eNews: Kindle Japan Store Opens on October 25, with Paperwhite and Fire Devices Set to Ship on November 19
Amazon is finally opening its Japan Kindle store on October 25, which includes more than 50,000 Japanese-language Kindle books from publishers such as Bungeishunju, Gentosha, Kadokawa, Kodansha, Shinchosha, Shogakukan and Shueisha, and includes 15,000 manga titles within that total. The Japanese Kindle store outpost will also sell the Kindle Paperwhite Wi-Fi and 3G for ¥8,480 ($106.31) and ¥12,980 ($162.72), and the Kindle Fire and Fire HD for ¥12,800 ($160.50) and ¥15,800 (USD $198), respectively. The Paperwhite devices will ship from Amazon.co.jp starting November 19 while the Fire devices will be available a month later, on December 19. Retailers K’s Holdings, […]
Self-Published Books Account for Close to Half of the “Traditional” Titles Bowker Tracks
Bowker has released a special analysis of title counts in the fast-growing self-published books segment. The new tabulations follow data from the company earlier in the year showing self-published print books comprising a substantial portion of the “traditional” annual output. (“Traditional” books does not count the over one million titles from POD factories.) When first reported in June, Bowker said self-published print books accounted for 36 percent of the “traditional” production in 2011; now the new report puts the total of 148,424 printed self-published books last year at 43 percent of the “traditional” output. While Bowker’s main year-to-year stats still […]