Perseus Books Group ceo David Steinberger wrote to the company’s 675 employees today to report on their most recent fiscal year (which ended June 30). He writes: “It was an extraordinary year, not just for the seemingly countless award winners and bestsellers we published and distributed and not just for beating our budget goals and delivering strong financial results, but also for the investments we continue to make in our future and the progress we are making in transforming The Perseus Books Group into a new kind of publishing and services company well positioned to thrive in the emerging digital […]
Earnings Reports
Corporate: Swann Steps Down as CEO of WHSmith; Final Suitors for McGraw-Hill Education;HarperCollins Moves to Streamline Global Publishing Infrastructure; and More
Kate Swann will step down as ceo of WHSmith on June 30 after more than nine years, the company announced Thursday. She will be replaced by current managing director of Smith’s high street business Steve Clarke. “It is an opportune time to make a change of leadership, and I am sure that the company will continue to thrive under Steve,” Swann told the FT. She didn’t elaborate further on future plans but said she “certainly doesn’t intend to retire.” The news was announced in tandem with the release of WHSmith’s preliminary full-year results, in which pre-tax profits rose 9.7 percent […]
Quercus Sees Larger Than Expected Larsson Decline, As Digital Grows
The UK’s Quercus reported results for the first six months of 2012, with “a predicted decline in the overall contribution from the Larsson franchise” registering “in a contribution…that fell short of our expectations” and is expected to continue. Sales of £9.24 million were down £2.7 million from a year ago, with £2 million of that gap attributed to lower Larsson receipts. (By our reckoning that means “underlying” non-Larsson sales declined about 7 percent.) Pre-tax profit suffered more, at £.6 million, compared to £3.4 million a year ago. Management reiterates that “Over the past few years we have been reinvesting our […]
Scholastic’s First Quarter Revenues Drop As Hunger Games Sales Level Off
Scholastic reported results for their fiscal 2013 first quarter, ending August 31, with both sales and earnings declining in what the company acknowledges is always the slowest part of the year–and one in which they typically record a loss. Sales dropped 7.7 percent to $293.6 million, and their seasonal operating loss was $47.5 million (or $1.02 a share), markedly worse than the $33.2 million loss from a year ago. Revenue in the children’s book publishing and distribution division also declined 8 percent for the quarter, to $71.1 million, reflecting “lower sales of Harry Potter relative to a year ago when […]
Digital Revenues Grow But eBook Sales Remain Flat in Wiley Q1
John Wiley reported fiscal first quarter results, with sales of $411 million down 2 percent compared to last year and adjusted operating income dropping 23 percent to 52 cents a share. The company also took a $4.8 million restructuring charge for various discontinued operations and layoffs as part of the ongoing transition and transformation to digital. (That charge was acknowledged as on the way last quarter.) Wiley also blamed “lower revenue and higher royalty and technology costs” for the revenue declines in the quarter. In the professional/trade group, overall sales of $102 million were up 4 percent, thanks to $6 […]
50 Shades Drives “Record Operating Profits” At Random House
As expected, sales of the 50 Shades of Grey trilogy–selling more than 30 million units in the reported period in English–powered Random House to “record operating profits” for the first six months of the year and made the book divison a standout performer for Bertelsmann as well. Random House’s sales for the reported period grew 160 million euros, or 20 percent, to €947 million for the period, and operating EBIT increased to €113 million, up 64 percent from €69 million a year ago. The company notes that “favorable currency exchange rates also contributed to its positive performance.” (The weakened euro […]