Lagardere reported fourth quarter and full-year results on Wednesday after the market close in Paris. Sales at Lagardere Publishing were €752 million for the fourth quarter, down €20 million compared to the previous year, a 2.6 percent decline overall (and down 8.1 percent on a like for like basis). Foreign exchange provided a €21 million boost during the quarter due to the stronger US dollar (though was held back slightly by the declining British pound) while recent acquisitions added €23 million to sales. For the full year, sales rose €150 million to €2.748 billion — also due to a combination […]
Earnings Reports
Indigo’s Holiday Sales Offset Soft Start to the Quarter
Indigo reported fiscal third quarter earnings at the close of trading yesterday, one day after experiencing a cyber incident on Wednesday that continues to shut down the company’s website and all electronic in-store sales. Sales were $422.7 million, down 1.9 percent from $430.7 million last year. Adjusted EBITDA was $40.8 million, down from $52.0 million, due to inflation, increased supply chain costs, and the company’s “investment to support modernized ecommerce technology.” Holiday sales offset a quieter start to the quarter, as consumers were cautious with spending and waited for Black Friday deals. Net earnings were $34.3 million, compared to $45.1 […]
Harper Sales Fell 14%; Offset By Lower Employee Costs
News Corp. reported fiscal second quarter earnings on Thursday for the period ended December 31, with sales at Harper Collins of $531 million, a 14 percent decline from $617 million in 2021, attributed to lower book sales “due to slowing consumer demand industry-wide, difficult frontlist comparisons and some logistical constraints at Amazon.” The strong dollar accounted for $22 million of the decline. The “softness” in sales was “notably in North America.” EBITDA was $51 million, down 52 percent from $107 million last year, due to those same lower sales trends, as well as “ongoing supply chain, inventory and inflationary pressures […]
WH Smith Gains in Airport Stores, As High Street Still Slides Further
WH Smith released a trading report for the 20 weeks ended January 14, with sales up 41 percent over last year and 20 percent over 2019, driven by the continuing recovery in their travel stores. High Street sales, however, continued their long fade; revenues were down 2 percent from 2022, and 14 percent from 2019, which the company called as ever “a good performance, in line with our expectations.” Sales in the Travel segment were up 77 percent over last year and 48 percent from 2019. The company has opened 40 new stores so far this year, with 37 set […]
Pearson to Cut Costs in 2023, Focused on Higher Ed
Pearson released a brief trading update for the fourth quarter and full year 2022, ahead of their full results for the year on March 3. “Underlying” sales were down 1 percent for the quarter but up 5 percent for the year, and adjusted operating profit for the year was up 11 percent to £455 million. The company saw growth for the year in all segments except for Higher Education, which dropped 4 percent, at approximately £900 million, “an expected, albeit reduced, decline.” There, the company restructured the sales team and refocused sales and marketing and invested in modernizing their products. […]
Storytel Q4 Sales Meet Forecast
Swedish audio streamer and publisher Storytel released a brief fourth quarter earnings update, with sales of SEK742 million ($69.2 million), up 22 percent and in line with expectations of SEK 735-745 million. For the year, sales were up 31 percent excluding Russia, where the company stopped doing business in September. In the Nordic segment, sales were SEK498 million, up SEK39 million from 2021. Within non-Nordic countries, sales were SEK 244 million, up SEK98 million. Paid subscribers continue to grow in both segments: up 84,000 in the Nordics and 167,000 subscribers in non-Nordics. CEO Johannes Larcher said, “Our performance in Q4 […]