John Wiley reported fiscal first quarter results, with sales of $430 million and adjusted operating income of $60 million. On a topline basis, both sales and adjusted earnings per share rose 5 percent, though those gains were almost entirely due to foreign exchange. On a currency-neutral basis, sales were slightly better than flat but adjusted earnings per share declined 3 percent. Sales were slightly better than analysts were expecting, but adjusted earnings per share of 68 cents fell short of projections of 75 a share (it’s a little tricky, however, since after special tax benefits earnings per share came in […]
Earnings Reports
Hachette Results Fall On Meyer Comps, As eBooks Reach 20 Percent
Lagardere reported sales for the first half of the year, with Lagardere Publishing recording declines in both sales and profits. Sales of 900 million euros were down 7.7 percent on a reported basis, and 6 percent on a like-for-like basis, compared to 975 million euros a year ago. Similarly, EBIT declined to 71 million euros, down from 101 million euros a year ago. But the company says that “when stripping out the Stephenie Meyer phenomenon, net sales were stable in the US and in the UK” and they “anticipate that the division will resume growth and profitability” in the second […]
Profits Up Sharply On Random House On Slight Sales Decline
Bertelsmann reported sales for the first half of the year, and Random House’s results followed the pattern of other big houses in recent months: sales were basically flat (down 4 million euros) but profits rebounded significantly, up over 70 percent. Sales for the period were 787 million euros, with operating EBIT of 69 million euros. The sales slide was blamed on “unfavorable exchange-rate effects.” While sales are still below levels reached in 2007 (832 million euros) and 2006 (859 million euros), this year’s operating EBIT is the best first-half result in years. The company “benefited from a strong U.S. performance […]
BN Says Nook Is A $900 Million Business, Set to Double
Barnes & Noble reported first quarter results that were mostly below analysts’ expectations, but showed strong growth in the Nook business and for the first time broke out the entire digital reading segment. The Nook segment–including content, devices and accessories–totalled $277 million for the quarter, with BN saying digital content sales quadrupled over the year. They say the Nook business comprised $880 million last year (and $123 million in 2010), and “is expected to double this year to $1.8 billion.” That news, and projections of smaller losses and much better EBITDA thanks to the Liberty Media investment sent Barnes & Noble […]
BAMM Earnings and Store Comps Slide Sharply in Second Quarter
Books-A-Million posted its second quarter earnings for the period ending July 30, with net sales dropping 11.4 percent to $106.4 million (from $120 million a year ago) and store comps falling 12.9 percent from the same time last year. The company also suffered a net loss of $2.9 million, or 18 cents a diluted share, in contrast to the $1.8 million in net profit earned 12 months ago, and on top of the $3.5 million lost in the first quarter. BAMM chairman, president and ceo Clyde Anderson said in a statement that the results “reflect a continuation of the trends […]
Quarto Buys Frances Lincoln For £4.5m, Reports Sales and Profit Increase So Far This Year
Quarto announced Tuesday that it had acquired Frances Lincoln Ltd for £4.5m. Quarto chairman Laurence Orbach said in a statement that Frances Lincoln’s non-fiction and illustrated children’s book list “complements Quarto’s existing UK publishing business, several imprints trading under the Aurum name, and more than doubles the scale of our presence in the UK. The acquisition is in keeping with our strategy to further expand our already broad offering of niche content.” For the fiscal year ending March 31, Frances Lincoln reported an audited profit before tax of £619,000, net assets of £3.8 million and gross assets of £5.9 million. […]