After an eventful summer which included a delayed full-year SEC filing, renegotiated loans to narrowly avoid collapse, and two new board members to oversee “strategic options,” Barnes & Noble Education announced results for the first quarter of fiscal year 2024, ended July 29 (which is typically a soft quarter for the company). Sales for the quarter were $264.2 million, up from $254.7 million last year (remember: sales for the same quarter in fiscal 2019 were $338 million). Net loss was $(50.4) million, compared to $(52.7) million, and gross profit was $50.6 million, down from $56.0 million. In the retail segment, […]
Earnings Reports
Penguin Random House Sales Gain on Acquisitions and International, As Profits Are Flat
Bertelsmann reported results for the first six months of the year on Wednesday morning, with Penguin Random House recording sales €2.098 billion—up 9.5 percent versus €1.916 billion a year ago, due to a mix of acquisitions, international growth and the strength of Prince Harry’s memoir SPARE. But operating EBITDA remained flat even with the sales increase, at a relatively modest €258 million (compared to €257 a year ago, and a record €324 million in 2021). Interim ceo Nihar Malaviya wrote to staff that the flat earnings “should come as no surprise, as industry inflationary cost pressures and increased costs across […]
Quarto Sales and Earnings Fall After Closing Distro and Toy Businesses
Quarto announced results for the first half of the fiscal year ended June 30, with sales of $52 million, down 16 percent from $61.9 million in the same period in 2022. The sales decline was in part due to the company closing their distribution service and selling their Smart Lab toy imprint. Adjusted operating profit was $3.1 million, compared to $6.1 million last year. The company also noted that the book market overall has been more challenging in 2023 than 2022, though they expect it to pick up in the rest of the year as inflation is past its peak. […]
Harper’s Sales and Earnings Fall to Close “A Tough Year”
Harper Collins reported a weak end to a difficult fiscal year, with fourth quarter sales of $446 million down $67 million from a year ago, 13 percent lower. EBITDA suffered even more, at just $16 million, compared to $47 million a year ago. $20 million of that gap was due to the calendar — with an additional 14th week included in last year’s quarter. The company also lost some revenue to foreign exchange. Broadly, News Corp. cited “lower book sales due to lower consumer demand industry-wide, [and] weak frontlist performance, which contributed to higher returns.” Earnings fell on a mix […]
Simon & Schuster Maintains Sales, Grows Income In Second Quarter
Paramount Global also reported second quarter earnings on Monday afternoon, including solid results for Simon & Schuster, which continues to lead in performance among the reporting large trade publishers. Sales were just below flat at $292 million — compared to $293 million in 2022, which was a high comp to meet, since that quarter sales were up 34 percent from $219 million in 2021. Operating income continued to grow further still, at $91 million, up 14 percent from $80 million a year ago. Sales for the first half of the year are up 8 percent over 2022, and operating income […]
BNED Focuses on Cost-Reduction, Profitable Segments
After a delay in filing while they renegotiated loans with investors, Barnes & Noble Education announced formal results for the fourth quarter and full year 2023 ended April 29. Those numbers were in line with the preliminary data announced in mid-July, including full year sales of $1.54 billion, up 3.2 percent from the previous year, and a grim higher net loss of $(101.9) million, even worse than the $(68.86) million the previous year. Per those preliminary numbers, fourth quarter sales were $241.8 million, down from $252.2 million last year, and net loss was $(46.25) million, an increase from $(10.96) million. […]