Lagardere reported fourth quarter sales on Tuesday, with publishing sales of €537 million down 5.5 percent from€569 million a year ago — and declining further, 8.7 percent, on a like-for-like basis. (Sales fell even with a foreign exchange gain of €14 million.) The company blamed “an unfavorable comparison effect” to a strong fourth quarter in 2013, though it’s clear that Lagardere Publishing sales were soft for the entire year. Full-year sales registered €2.004 million, down 3 percent from €2.066 million a year ago — a 3 percent topline decline, and a 4.5 percent like-for-like decline. That is the lowest sales […]