Oxford University Press reported their results for the fiscal year ending March 2013, with sales rising 5 percent (or 4.4 percent on a like-for-like basis) and strong profits. Total sales were £759 million (up £36 million), “in spite of the difficult trading conditions.” Pre-tax profit of £116 million was up slightly, while higher taxes made the net profit a few million pounds lower. Chief executive Nigel Portwood notes, “These results compare favorably with those of our competitors, and are all the more impressive given the difficulties we faced.” PDF report
Earnings Reports
With Trade Division Selloff “Effectively Complete,” Wiley Anticipates Further Restructuring Costs and Layoffs
Fourth quarter adjusted sales at Wiley rose 3 percent to $441 million, as operating income of $58.9 million dropped 9 percent and adjusted net income of $42.6 million (or 71 cents a share) was down 6 percent. For the full year, sales of $1.761 billion were virtually flat compared to a year ago, with operating income of $252.4 million and net income of $175.6 million declining 6 and 7 percent, respectively. (Adjusted results reflect the trade publishing properties sold to Google, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and other companies, a process which was “effectively complete” by the end of the fourth quarter.) […]
People, Etc.
Jeff Tegge has joined Legato Publishers Group, the recently announced new distribution affiliate of Publishers Group West headed by former IPG chief Mark Suchomel, as vp, sales. Legge was formerly a colleague of Suchomel’s at IPG, where he also had the title of vp, sales. Christina Quintero has joined Little, Brown Books for Young Readers as art director for licensing. Previously she was associate art director at Grosset & Dunlap/Price Stern Sloan. The Guggenheim-Lehrman Prize is a newly launched award for the best scholarly book in military history. The prize, worth $50,000 will be awarded beginning in February 2014. The ABA announced […]
Sales, Comps and Earnings Fall at BAM with No Big Hits; Sales and Profits Drop for Indigo
Following the expansion of their store footprint over a year ago, Books-a-Million has returned to sales declines on both an overall as well as a comparable store basis. For their first quarter, ending March 4, overall sales fell 7.4 percent to $104.5 million (down from $112.8 million a year ago), and same-store sales dropped 6.8 percent. As a result, their net loss from continuing operations increased — up to $3.7 million, 25 cents per share, almost double the $1.9 million loss recorded a year ago. CEO Terrance Finley said in the announcement, “Our first quarter results were slightly below our […]
Profits Rise at Bloomsbury
Bloomsbury finished their fiscal year ending February 28 well, riding digital growth to pre-tax profit of £9.8 million (up 16 percent), even as sales only nudged up $1.1 million to £98.5 million from continuing operations. Underlying sales — excluding the Fairchild Books and Applied Visual Arts acquisitions from during the year, were down 5 percent, to £92.5 million. eBook sales rose “strongly” as print declined, up 61 percent overall to £9.1 million. eBooks accounted for 13 percent of adult trade sales; in the US they comprised “27 percent of net title sales, but UK e-book sales are accelerating and now […]
Briefs: People, Terms, Awards, and More
As part of Simon & Schuster’s move towards what they see as a “globally coordinated, strategic approach to our worldwide ebook business,” current vp, business development Doug Stambaugh has been named vp, global ebook market and development strategy, reporting to Dennis Eulau. In the newly created position, Stambaugh will evaluate opportunities for retail expansion, and new partnerships, digital channels and publishing initiatives, and develop company-wide strategies, policies and best practices in areas ranging from terms and pricing to DRM, technology platforms and new business models. “While digital content is firmly established as a significant portion of our business, the digital […]