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 […]
Earnings Reports
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 […]
More Wiley Fallout: HMH’s “Bargain”; Harper Canada’s Buy; and Frommer Gets Back Frommer’s
It’s another fascinating day of fallout from the sales of Wiley’s trade assets. In Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s recently issued 2012 annual report, the company characterizes their acquisition of Wiley’s culinary and reference books as a “bargain purchase.” It was such a good deal, in fact, that HMH booked a special $30.8 million gain on the acquisition. They paid $11 million, but determined that “the fair value assigned to the net assets exceeded the consideration paid,” valuing the whole package at $41.8 million. That tells you something about how lean the offers were for Wiley’s properties, regardless of their value, and […]
Extra Week in Fiscal Year Boosts Books-A-Million’s Full-Year Sales and Profits
Books-A-Million reported fourth quarter and full year results Wednesday afternoon, which reflect an extra added week that happens once every six years in the company’s reporting cycle. After four straight quarters of sales gains, BAMM saw a small decline (0.8 percent) at $165.6 million compared to a year ago. Same-store sales continued their pattern of quarterly declines, down 6.1 percent, though net income, at $8.1 million for the quarter was up from the $7.6 million reported during the same period last year. For the year, net sales increased 7.5 percent to $503.8 million (from $468.5 million, though based on a […]