Courier reported fiscal second quarter sales, with their publishing division declining 5 percent to $9.6 million. They had an operating loss of $1.1 million, but that’s an improvement over a loss of $2 million this time last year, when they took a $750,000 bad-debt charge due to the Borders bankruptcy. Their REA test-prep business was the only profitable unit during the quarter, even though sales fell 5 percent. And online sales helped Dover revenues increase 5 percent in the period. Creative Homeowner continues its sharp decline, with sales down 34 percent. Among new initiatives, they are planning a spring launch […]
Earnings Reports
Book Sales Down 8 Percent at WH Smith, with 100 Kobo In-Store Shops Coming This Year
Book sales continue to decline at UK chain WH Smith, down 8 percent on a same-store-sales basis for the six months ending February 29. On their Kobo relationship, the company says “initial performance is encouraging and we plan to further develop the offer throughout this year,” without indicating any figures. High street store sales of 448 million pounds were down over 5 percent overall (by 25 million pounds) and 6 percent on a comp-store basis, but groupwide profit rose 3 million pounds. In a parallel announcement, Kobo explained that they will open 100 in-store boutiques within WH Smith high street […]
More Amazon News: The 2011 Letter to Shareholders
Amazon has filed ceo Jeff Bezos’s annual letter to shareholders with the SEC in advance of their annual meeting–for which the board heartily recommends that owners vote against a shareholder proposal “calling for certain disclosures regarding corporate political contribtions.” In this year’s letter, the KDP program is one of three innovations that Bezos underscores: “Invention comes in many forms and at many scales. The most radical and transformative of inventions are often those that empower others to unleash their creativity – to pursue their dreams. That’s a big part of what’s going on with Amazon Web Services, Fulfillment by Amazon, […]
Random House Profit Increases as Bertelsmann Plans To Reshape Company In Next 5-10 Years
Bertelsmann released its full-year earnings statement for 2011, and for Random House the numbers correspond to the trend at other large houses: Revenue fell €79 million or 4.3 percent to €1.749 billion compared to last year, while EBIT rose 6.9 percent to €185 million, compared to €173 million the previous year. The company also recorded “record triple-digital-percentage” digital revenue growth and a “surging demand” for Random House ebooks helped by the “increasing availability of lower-priced e-reading devices and tablets” that offset declines in print sales. (2011 was also the year Random House switched to agency model pricing in the US.) […]
Connecticut Court Ruling Says Scholastic Book Clubs Liable For Sales Tax
One week after issuing third quarter results, Scholastic issued a statement saying that the company needed to revise its earnings report after they were notified that the Connecticut Supreme Court “had reversed an earlier trial court decision and found that Scholastic Book Clubs was liable for sales taxes relating to the operation of its school book clubs business in Connecticut.” The Hartford Courant reported that the unanimous ruling, issued on March 19, said Scholastic “owes $3.2 million plus interest and penalties going back to 1995 to the state,” based on the Book Clubs division having enough of a presence in […]
Losses Mount For Hastings, Tablet Sales Boost Book Comps
Hastings Entertainment reported fourth quarter and full year results Monday morning and the losses continue to mount. For the quarter, the company reported a net loss of $8.4 million (or 1 dollar a share), considerably worse than the $3.8 million in profit reported a year ago, with an overall loss of $17.6 million for the year. Overall book comps actually increased 2.4 percent for the quarter, “primarily due to sales of the Nextbook Premium 7 e-reader tablet and related accessories” and an uptick in trade paperback sales that offset continuing sales declines in new mass market books and used hardbacks. […]