Wiley announced fourth quarter and year-end earnings for the period ended April 30. For the fourth quarter, the company reported $526 million in sales, down 4 percent from last year, and adjusted EBITDA of $146.2 million, up from $109.6 million. For the year, sales were $2.02 billion, down 3 percent, and non-GAAP EBITDA before adjustments fell 36 percent to $284.1 million, compared to $444.6 million in 2022. Academic publishing sales were down 3 percent to $127 million for the quarter, and fell 9 percent for the year, to $482 million, with the “decline in print and ebooks more than offsetting […]
Earnings Reports
BNED’s Year Is Under Already Low Expectations
Barnes & Noble Education shared preliminary results for the year ended April 29, yet again underperforming their modest expectations. As recently as last quarter they were still expecting $20 to $30 million in adjusted EBITDA for the fiscal year. Alas, no; they now expect to show a loss of $(5) to $(10) million “due to lower than expected fourth quarter revenue and lower fourth quarter gross profits,” as consumers move away from buying physical textbooks in favor of digital materials. (Our standing reminder: The last time the company recorded a profit was fiscal 2017. They still have the same ceo.) […]
Bloomsbury Records Record Sales and Earnings
Bloomsbury released preliminary results for the year, ended Feb 28, reporting record sales and earnings. Sales of £264 million were up 15 percent from the previous year and 43 percent from two years ago. Profit before taxation and highlighted items grew 16 percent to £31.1 million. “These results demonstrate the strength of our strategy to publish for both the consumer and the academic markets, unusual in our industry, and to grow digital revenues while expanding globally,” ceo Nigel Newton said in a release. In the consumer division, sales were up 12 percent to £166.7 million with profit before taxation and […]
WH Smith Bookstores Up 2 Percent
UK retailer WH Smith reported results for the 13 weeks ended May 27 in a brief trading update, with High Street sales up 2 percent. Overall company sales rose 23 percent, driven by travel division gains of 31 percent. Travel stores in North American grew 26 percent as passenger numbers rebounded and the company opened new locations. Results
Harper Sales Remain Flat as Amazon Orders Pick Up
News Corp reported results for the third quarter ended March 31, with sales at Harper Collins flat at $515 million. Higher sales in the Christian division made up for a 2 percent negative FX impact. The company’s top titles in the quarter were The Courage to Be Free by Ron DeSantis, Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver and Never, Never by Colleen Hoover and Tarryn Fisher. EBITDA was down 9 percent to $61 million, “driven by ongoing supply chain, inventory and inflationary pressures on manufacturing, freight and distribution costs,” which contributed to a cost increase of 1 percent. The company’s press […]
SPARE Drives Q1 for Penguin Random House
Bertelsmann announced headline results for the first quarter of 2023, with sales up 5.6 percent to €4.8 billion and organic growth of 2 percent. They maintained their full-year forecast of “moderate to significant revenue growth and a stable operating result,” according to cfo Rolf Hellermann. Penguin Random House was a “main revenue driver” for the company, along with a few other divisions, with a “strong first quarter” led by Prince Harry’s SPARE, which the company says sold more than 4 million copies across formats. In a release, chair & ceo Thomas Rabe said, “We are growing significantly and will continue […]