Wiley reported third quarter sales of $427 million this morning, a 14 percent increase driven in large part by currency gains (up 5 percent excluding foreign exchange). Operating income of $68.3 million was up eight percent, while adjusted net income of 71 cents a share was up 25 percent. Though the results are strong, analysts were anticipating earnings of 74 cents a share. The professional/trade division grew 10 percent at $107 million for the quarter, up 7 percent on a currency neutral basis. The company says “sales growth was strong in all regions, especially the U.S., where the holiday season […]
Earnings Reports
50 Million Meyer Books Drive Lagardere Publishing's Profits
Having already reported sales for 2009, Lagardere just reported their profits as well as part of their more formal fiscal report. The publishing division recorded of recurring EBIT of 301 million euros (on sales of 2.273 million euros), up 24 percent from last year. “The majority of the year-on-year increase of 58 million euros came from the United States, boosted by the success of the Stephenie Meyer saga,” for which they sold approximately 50 million copies in 2009 (after selling 35 million copies in 2008). In the US alone, they sold 33.6 million Meyer books in 2009. They also announced […]
Profits Rise at Harlequin As Currency Holds Down Sales
Harlequin’s parent company Torstar reported that the publishing unit had fourth quarter sales of $122 million (CA), down three percent from last year, but EBITDA jumped to $21.7 million, almost 40 percent higher than the $15.6 million a year ago. (And yes, that gives them EBITDA margin of of 17.8 percent.) They say “underlying” sales rose $2.6 million, while the strengthening Canadian dollar cost them $6.6 million. For the full year, sales of $493 million were up 4.3 percent over the previous year. EBITDA for the year was $88.2 million, up 22 percent.Release
Weak Pound Boosts Penguin Sales, As Margin Declines
Nothing helps the performance of Penguin and its parent company Pearson like a weak British pound, particularly since they get 60 percent of their sales from the US. For fiscal 2009 that benefit is stark, particularly for Penguin, where currency exchange made up for flat sales and declining margins. Sales at Penguin were 1.002 billion pounds, an 11 percent increase over last year’s 903 million pounds, though the gains and then some were entirely due to currency. The company admits that foreign exchange contributed 109 million pounds; on a constant-exchange-rate basis sales fell 1 percent, and “underlying” sales were down […]
Barnes & Noble Reports Decent Earnings On Declining Sales
Barnes & Noble reported third quarter sales of $2.175 billion for the period ending January 10. Same-store sales at regular BN outlets were down 5.5 percent compared to a year, and fell 4.7 percent overall, at $1.4 billion. College bookstore sales of $566 million were down 1.3 percent. BN.com sales grew 32 percent to $210 million–and were up 67 percent in the month of January, driven by nook sales. (BN’s quarters no longer align following the integration of the College division, but last year in March store comps were down 7.3 percent–so they are underperforming an already-lowered bar.) During the […]
Simon & Schuster Finishes Down in 2009
Simon & Schuster had a weak finish to a difficult year, as sales fell over 20 percent in their fourth quarter ending December 31, down more than 10 percent (or $25 million) to $220 million, blamed on a “soft market.” For the full fiscal year, sales of $793.5 million were down 7.5 percent compared to a year ago. That sales number is also behind their 2007 sales (of $886 million) and 2006 sales (of $807 million). Profits fells further, with adjusted OIBDA of just $13.6 million this quarter, less than half of last year’s earnings of $28.3 million. For the […]