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. […]
Earnings Reports
Hunger Games Sales Drive Big Sales Gain At Scholastic
Led by strong sales of The Hunger Games trilogy, Scholastic reported sharply higher sales for the third quarter of $467 million, up 22 percent from a year ago, and a much smaller seasonal loss of $3.2 million, or 10 cents per share, compared to 81 cents a share (or $25.1 million) a year ago. The publisher’s stock jumped over 20 percent (or more than $7 a share) in early trading on Thursday on the improved results and increased full-year guidance. If sustained, it will be the highest Scholastic’s shares have traded since 2002. Besides Hunger Games, for which “sales of […]
Holiday Comps Decline Yet Again at Books-a-Million
Books-a-Million reported yet another weak holiday quarter, with same-store sales down 5.7 percent (compared to an ever lower-bar). Sales rose 10.7 percent, to $166.9 million, based on the net addition of 20 stores. While Barnes & Noble had one of their best holiday sales seasons in years, BAM has had at least six consecutive years of negative comps in the quarter. Net income from continuing operations was $7.6 million, up $0.9 million compared to a year ago–but they incurred costs for the quarter of $1.6 million related to the closing of 21 underperforming locations and the opening of 41 new […]
People: LA Office for Janklow & Nesbit, and More
Janklow & Nesbit Associates is opening their own Los Angeles office to extend their services in the film, television and digital communities. The agency says the move will allow it “to build on its existing relationships and expand its reach enormously in the service of its clients and their material.” Carlo Martinelli and Amanda Schweitzer comprise the new LA Team. Martinelli was at Vuguru, Michael Eisner’s online content company, after working for 10 years at Bona Fide Productions. Schweitzer has been at Millar Gough Ink and before that worked for Hugh Jackman’s Seed Productions. Luke Janklow says in the announcement […]
Sales and Earnings Rise At Wiley As Professional/Trade Falls
Sales at Wiley rose 1 percent to $451 million in their fiscal third quarter and adjusted earnings rose 8 percent to 91 cents a share (total earnings of $61 million rose more, due to some special tax benefits, and last year’s Borders writedown). In the professional/trade division, sales fell 6 percent to $108 million. The company blamed “the loss of comparable sales from the prior year to Borders through December, a weak global economy, and soft retail sales.” Direct contribution to profit dropped 7 percent to $28 million, “reflecting lower revenue partially mitigated by cost saving initiatives.” eBook sales almost […]
Like Others, Harlequin Sees Sales Soften and Margins Hold Up
Canada’s Torstar reported fourth-quarter and fiscal year results Wednesday, and the performance of Harlequin fits the general pattern of other publicly-reported trade publishers: sales were down a little, and operating earnings rose. This is what the digital transition looks like. For the full year, digital comprised 15.5 of revenues of $459 million CA (down 2 percent from $468 million the previous year). In the fourth quarter alone, digital accounted for 17.7 percent of worldwide sales of $118 million, down $2 million. Digital sales added $7 million in the fourth quarter compared to a year ago, while retail print sales declined […]