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 […]
Earnings Reports
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 […]
Scholastic Book Fairs Rise to 85% of Pre-Pandemic Levels, As Trade Slides 4 Percent
Scholastic reported earnings results for the second quarter ended November 30, with sales of $588 million, up 12 percent from $524 million last year, driven by “strong results” in Children’s Book Publishing and Distribution and gains in Book Fairs. Operating income was 20 percent ahead of last year, at $100.1 million, and adjusted EBITDA was $122.3 million, a 14 percent gain. The company credited these results to higher sales and profits in the Children’s Books segment, as well as “cost containment” related to inflation. Trade sales, which had reached all-time high levels, dipped 4 percent to $120 million due to […]
Wiley Aims to Reduce Costs as Earnings Fell in Q2
Wiley released its earnings report for the second quarter ended October 31, with sales of $515 million, down 3 percent from last year. Operating income was down 22 percent to $57.4 million, and adjusted EBITDA fell 3 percent to $123.8 million. Net income was $38.2 million, compared to $55.9 million in the prior year. Earnings declined in part due to $14 million in restructuring charges “related to workforce actions and real estate optimization.” In a presentation to investors on Wednesday, the company said it is “accelerating [a] cost reduction program, including targeted workforce actions, general hiring freeze, real estate optimization, […]