Bertelsmann reported results for the first six months of the year, with Penguin Random House declining on an organic basis by 1.8 percent — though topline sales still rose by 6.3 percent, due to the weakness of the euro. Sales for the period were €1.916 billion, compared to €1.804 billion a year ago. Earnings were down by both measures, with EBITDA of €257 million, compared to €324 million a year ago. The company noted, “Adjusted for exchange-rate effects, revenue and earnings declined, given the inflationary pressure and supply-chain challenges.” You can see the dual effect on PRH US sales — […]
Archives for August 2022
Barnes & Noble Education Loses More Than Ever In First Quarter
Barnes & Noble Education started their fiscal 2023 by doing what unfortunately they do best: Losing more money than expected. In the seasonally soft quarter, sales of $264 million were up from $241 million a year ago, but still well behind pre-pandemic levels of $338 million in fiscal 2019. The net loss of ($52.7 million) was worse than last year’s net loss of ($43.6 million), and their worst loss for this quarter in at least the last six years. Retail sales of 236.5 million rose $26 million, mostly on merchandise and café and convenience food product sales, rather than textbooks. […]
Amazon’s Sarah Selects Book Club
People 8/31
Virginia State Court Dismisses Obscenity Case
The Virginia State Court has dismissed a case petitioning to have Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe and Sarah Maas’ fantasy romance A Court of Mist and Fury declared “obscene for minors” under an obscure state statute. Retired Judge Pamela S. Baskervill was assigned the case after all local judges recused themselves. She called the statute “facially invalid” and “unconstitutional on its face in that it authorizes a prior restraint that violates the First Amendment and the Constitution of Virginia” and ordered it removed from the docket. Lawyers representing the authors and publishers, the ACLU, Barnes & Noble, and “a coalition […]