After years of declining sales and operating losses, Courier Corporation has finally sold “certain of its Creative Homeowner publishing assets” to Fox Chapel Publishing, including “more than 100 active titles in home design, home improvement, landscaping and gardening.” The sale price was not disclosed for now (though likely will be in Courier’s next quarterly report). Creative Homeowner has suffered recently as their “largest distribution customer” went out of business earlier this year, resulting in an $825,000 write-off and reduced sales. And CH has suffered for years due to the economy, and loss of business at other key outlets from Borders to Home Depot. Courier […]
Earnings Reports
Penguin Random House Has Softer Sales (Probably) and Strong Earnings In First Half
Penguin Random House plus the separately-owned Random House Germany together had sales in the first half of 2014 of €1.461 billion, with operating EBITDA of €159 million. (The Santillana trade publishing business was added July 1, after the close of these results.) It is the first time that the combined business has reported sales for the first six months of the year, and while the company did not disclose direct comps to prior performance, sales look to be down by about €40 million, or 2.7 percent, likely from the Random House side (which had Dan Brown’s Inferno in 2013, and […]
A Tepid Second Quarter for Books-A-Million
Books-A-Million said sales for the second quarter ending August 2 more or less stayed flat, dipping 0.5 percent to $108.3 million. Same-store sales inched up a mere 0.1 percent, while their net loss of $3 million, or 21 cents per share was a considerable improvement on the $9.1 million net loss of a year ago. The quarterly results also include “higher income tax expense due to the recording of a non-cash valuation allowance and the reversal of previously recorded income tax benefits.” President and ceo Terrance Finley said in the release: “In our BAM! retail stores, the continued improvement in […]
Second Quarter Sales Up at HMH, Though Trade Performance Softens
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt reported second quarter 2014 sales of $402 million, up 11 percent, though trade sales for the period fell $2 million (or 5 percent) to $37 million, “as the prior year benefitted from strong net sales of backlist titles associated with the theatrical releases of the movies The Hobbit and Life of Pi.” The company expects the film version of Lois Lowry’s The Giver “could provide ongoing tie-in sales in the coming quarters.” Trade’s adjusted EBITDA was much lower, down $3 million to $2 million. Companywide, HMH had adjusted EBITDA of $109 million, and net income of $12 […]
Quarto Results Fall In “Tough First Half”
Quarto Group reported results for the first half of 2014, with sales down 3 percent to $65.6 million (declining $6.6 million) and operating profit down slightly at $2.77 million (dropping more than $200,000). CEO Marcus Leaver said in the release, “Despite a tough first half we expect the new product and the marketing & sales initiatives that we invested, in 2013, to deliver a strong second half in our publishing businesses. There are positive signs of the turnaround we targeted in the Books & Gifts Direct business in Australia and New Zealand. The Group should deliver earnings growth in 2014 as […]
S&S Second Quarter Sales and Profits “Stronger Than Originally Projected”
Simon & Schuster reported sales of $211 million for the second quarter, up 11.6 percent — a significant improvement compared to the same time a year ago and what parent company CBS said was due to “higher print book sales” by titles such as HARD CHOICES by Hillary Clinton, GOOD CALL by “Duck Commander” star Jase Roberston, and CITY OF HEAVENLY FIRE by Cassandra Clare. CEO Carolyn Reidy told us the company “had a strong quarter, with terrific books” not only because of the success of key titles, but because of “all around strength” across all imprints. “Every one of […]