With News Corp.’s proposed spinoff of its publishing unit, aka New News Corp (the other division will be renamed Fox Group) moving forward, the company filed proxy documents with the SEC late Thursday outlining the scope of the proposed spinoff and revealing financial performance data for HarperCollins, after holding back on numbers ever since the close of fiscal 201o. For the most recent quarter, which ended September 30 (their fiscal first quarter), Harper reported sales of $352 million, up 17 percent from $301 million in 2011–largely because of the acqusition of Thomas Nelson in July, at the beginning of the […]
Earnings Reports
Scholastic Sales and Profits Fall, As Forecasted
Scholastic reported results for the second quarter ending November 30, and as the company warned a month ago, overall sales fell 10 percent to $616.2 million, and profits declined further. The company reported a net profit of $61.8 million (or $1.89 a share) as compared to $82.8 million (or $2.62 a share) a year ago, in part because of declining Hunger Games trilogy sales as well as declining book club revenues and lower sales of higher margin educational technology products. Revenue in the children’s book publishing and distribution division was also down almost 11 percent to $350.1 million, and trade […]
Bookselling: More BN Stores to Close; Foyles Turns a Smaller Profit in 2012; And More
Barnes & Noble will close both of its stores in Irving, TX on December 31. The Irving mall and Las Colinas locations are shutting down “as part of the national book store’s recent business decision to reevaluate low-selling locations,” according to neighborsgo.com. It goes along with the pattern in which BN closes stores when the leases expire if they cannot agree on acceptable renewals: December 31 will also see the shutdown of stores in Westlake, TX; Plainfield, IL; Campbell, CA; and, as previously reported, the Sixth Avenue store in New York’s West Village. BN will also close a store in […]
Wiley Takes Writedown On Weak Interest In Trade Assets; Reduces Earnings Guidance
Wiley’s second quarter earnings report comes clean about the weakness of the trade publishing assets they have been trying to sell. The second deal–in which Houghton Mifflin Harcourt bought their culinary line and the CliffsNotes and Webster’s New World Dictionary businesses–yielded just $11 million. Wiley has taken a writedown of “approximately $16 million,” reflecting a reduced value for both the assets bought by HMH as well as the “realizable value” of the grab-bag of other trade books still up for sale, which includes titles on pets, crafts, nautical and general interest. That loss is balanced by a $10 million gain […]
Nook Growth Remains Moderate in Barnes & Noble’s Second Quarter, Weighing On Share Price
For the second straight quarter, Barnes & Noble beat Wall Street’s diminished expectations, with a reduced net loss of 4 cents a share (or $7 million) versus the predicted loss of 6 cents to 11 cents. EBITDA rose as well at $64.8 million, a 16 percent increase compared to a year ago, and while retail bookstore sales declined, those profits doubled. Though full holiday results won’t be reported until January 3, BN said Nook device sales “doubled over the four-day Black Friday weekend, across all channels” as compared to last year. The biggest likely concern–that we have pointed to before–is […]
Scholastic Cuts Profit Forecast Sharply, Citing Multiple Factors
After riding high on movie-driven sales of The Hunger Games, Scholastic has swung the other way, warning investors of multiple weaknesses in their business. In an announcement late Tuesday, Scholastic cited “lower curriculum product sales in its Educational Technology and Services segment,” as funds move to training in advance of the Common Core standards implementation–but also blamed on “a delay in purchasing decisions due to continued uncertainty regarding the federal budget.” Their book club business has also softened, both because of now “lower than anticipated US sales of The Hunger Games trilogy” and the impact of Hurricane Sandy. As result, […]