Lagardere Publishing reported third quarter results on Thursday for the period ending September 30. Sales of €607 million were down 6.1 percent compared to €646 a year ago (and a big €675 in 2016), due to an expected weakness in European educational sales. The lack of curriculum reform in France accounted for that division’s decline of (14.7 percent), with weak educational sales also weighing on sales in Spain/Latin America (down 8.2 percent), and the UK (down 6.7 percent). The UK trade division also had a “lighter release schedule.” But HBG USA had a “sparkling performance,” up 5.1 percent for the quarter, […]
Archives for November 2018
Braithwaite’s My Sister, the Serial Killer Tops December Indie Next List
The ABA named My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite as its No. 1 pick for December. Also on the list is Ariel Burger’s Witness, which is featured in our Buzz Books 2018 Fall/Winter sampler available for download now. The rest of the picks: Once Upon a River, by Diane Setterfield A Well-Behaved Woman, by Therese Anne Fowler The Dakota Winters, by Tom Barbash Kingdom of the Blind, by Louise Penny The Adults, by Caroline Hulse Vita Nostra, by Marina and Sergey Dyachenko Night of Miracles, by Elizabeth Berg Radiant Shimmering Light, by Sarah Selecky The Museum of Modern Love, by […]
People: Lehmann-Haupt Dies, and More
Longtime NYT book critic — and author of over 4,000 book reviews — Christopher Lehmann-Haupt died Wednesday at 84, from complications of a recent stroke. He was the NYT’s senior daily book critic from 1969 to 1995, and a critic until 2000 (he retired from the NYT in 2014). “Readers and colleagues called him a judicious, authoritative voice on fiction and a seemingly boundless array of history, biography, current events and other topics, with forays into Persian archaeology and fly fishing.” The paper notes that he had recently completed the manuscript for a memoir, “about his discovery of his Jewish […]
To Everyone’s Surprise, AbeBooks Apologizes and Will Retain Booksellers In Four Countries
Following a well-publicized “Banned Bookseller Week” protest from some bookseller customers over AbeBooks’ plan to abruptly remove booksellers in South Korea, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Russia from their platform at the end of November, the company reversed itself — to everyone’s surprise. “The matter was apparently resolved when Sally Burdon, an Australian bookseller who is president of the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers, spoke with Arkady Vitrouk, chief executive of AbeBooks. In a Wednesday email to her members after their talk, Ms. Burdon said Mr. Vitrouk apologized for the platform’s behavior ‘a number of times. and said booksellers in […]
Harper Has “Robust” Profit Gain On Modest Sales Boost
Sales gained at HarperCollins for the fifth consecutive quarter, rising $17 million to $418 in their fiscal first quarter. “Robust profit growth” saw EBITDA rise to $68 million in the period, up $20 million for a year ago. Sales gains would have been higher, but were “partially offset by $12 million of lower revenues as a result of the adoption of the new revenue recognition standard.” We explained that standard earlier in the year, in the context of how it lifts Penguin Random House’s ebook sales, but it applies broadly to “revenues from contracts with customers.” A HarperCollins spokesperson confirms […]
Indigo Revenue and Profitability Down, Online Sales Up
Indigo released second quarter results for the period ended September 29. Revenue was $216.3 million (CA), a decrease of $8.3 million, “driven by the closure of a few low performing stores and renovations in 12 stores as the Company continues to transform its retail operations.” They closed two stores in the quarter, one of which is being relocated. Comparable retail superstore sales for the quarter decreased 1.4 percent, driven by softer store traffic, while small format store comp sales increased 3.1 percent. Meanwhile, the net loss increased measurably, at $19.1 million ($.70 per share) compared to a net loss of […]