Self-publishing platform FastPencil has been acquired by printer and publisher Courier. The news was announced after the close of the market on Tuesday, and just ahead of Courier reporting second quarter earnings on Wednesday morning. The terms were not disclosed for now, but for Courier — with roughly $260 million in annual sales — it’s likely that the price would be considered material and will be disclosed in due time. FastPencil is a self-publishing company and provider of software tools to enable self-publishing–and recently worked in partnership with Nook on their new set of Nook Press content creation, collaboration and […]
Earnings Reports
McGraw-Hill’s Final Report on Education
McGraw-Hill reported first quarter 2013 earnings, following the sale of their education business for $2.4 billion on March 22. The education results are covered only briefly, as a discontinued operation. They booked a net gain of $612 million on the sale of the business, and reported net income for the quarter of $582 million (reflecting an operating loss of $30 million during the period for education). McGraw-Hill also recorded separately costs of $44 million–half cash, and half non-cash charges–for professional fees and other one-time costs related to the separate of the education unit. Release
Pearson Starts Well; Quarto Is Up In the US and Down Overall
In a short first quarter trading update ahead of their annual meeting–in the British style–Pearson said overall sales were £1.2 billion, up 3 percent at constant exchange rates and 4 percent overall (but down slightly on an underlying basis). Penguin “has had a good start to the year with market share gains in all key territories boosted by bestsellers from Harlan Coben, Nora Roberts, Jamie Oliver and John Green.” The FT “is facing weak trading conditions for advertising” and otherwise their performance is in line with their forecast from last month when they reported 2012 results. Pearson In another brief […]
Sales Rise 22 Percent At Amazon, Though International Media Stalls
Amazon’s sales grew 22 percent to $16.07 billion in their first quarter, as operating income fell to $181 million (down $11 million) and net income dropped more, down $48 million to $82 million in the quarter — for a margin of just over half of one percent. Though slim, those earnings were ahead of analysts’ expectations (but sales were slightly below estimates). The company forecast a likely loss for the next quarter (or a best a tiny margin of up to $10 million), and sees sales growing 13 percent to 26 percent. On that softer than expected outlook, shares fell […]
Profit Far Lower in Quercus’s “Year of Transition”
Quercus announced preliminary results for the full fiscal year ending December 31, reporting £1.5 million in operating profit, a sharp dropoff from the £5.9 million reported for 2011, and revenues of £20.4 million, declining from £24.8 million the previous year. The company included a £100,000 charge to set up a new American division, which will launch this fall with 25 titles scheduled. They project “a program of 86 titles” in the US in 2014, and are readying another 150 ebooks for their backlist for US release. On the growth side, ebook sales were £6.4 million, up from £2.7 million in […]
Bookselling: Northshire to Hire 25 For Saratoga Springs Store; Blackwood & Brouwer to Close; WH Smith Declines Continue
Northshire Books, which is preparing to open a second store in Saratoga Springs, NY, will announce later today that the store will hire 25 full-time and part-time employees. The Post-Star reports interviews will begin in Saratoga Springs next week, and will continue throughout the spring. Conversely, Blackwood & Brouwer in nearby Kinderhook, NY will close at the end of June after 23 years in business. “There’s no blame coming from us in any specific direction,” co-owner Rondi Brower told the Albany Times-Union. “It was a combination of factors. The miracle is that we stayed alive so long, not that we’re […]