First quarter sales at Hastings fell $6.2 million, or 4.7 percent, to $126 million, while net earnings were nearly halved, at $1.7 million. But same-store sales for books actually rose slightly–by 0.2 percent on an absolute basis, or by 1.7 percent if you account for the extra day of sales in the quarter last year (on February 29). Though the benefits may not have gone to book publishers, since the company says “strong sales of used and value books, as well as strong sales of new hardbacks were offset by lower sales of magazines.”Release
Earnings Reports
Lagardere Publishing Still Rising
Sales rose 12 percent in the first quarter at Lagardere Publishing, to 463 million euros, as the company sold over 18 million copies of Stephenie Meyer books worldwide. Foreign exchange had “a negative effect” of 9 million euros, with the pound weakening and the dollar strengthening during the period. That left Hachette Book Group in the US with 20 percent of the company’s sales, and Hachette UK at 18 percent. The company acknowledges that the first quarter percentage increase was helped by “a flattering comparative” and says that “while Lagardère Publishing is ahead of budget for the first three months […]
Bertelsmann Suffers in Downturn
Bertelsmann issued a first quarter overview and said that for the full year, they expect both “revenues and operating profit to decline.” Sales from continuing operations were 3.5 billion euros for the quarter, down 8 percent from 3.8 billion euros a year ago. Operating EBIT fell sharply at 115 million euros, compared to 253 million euros a year ago, and they recorded a net operating loss of 78 million euros. No breakdowns were provided for individual units of the company. The company says “coming months will continue to be dominated by strict cost discipline.” Though recent efforts have aimed at […]
S&S Reports: Down 20% Is the New Flat?
Simon & Schuster reported sales of $161.7 million for their fiscal first quarter, down 20 percent from $201.6 million a year ago (when the quarter was also down 12 percent in sales and 32 percent in income.) OIBDA evaporated to a slim $100,000, compared to $17.1 million a year ago, with an operating loss of $2.1 million, compared to operating income of $14.6 million a year ago. The company said “these decreases were driven by the revenue decline partially offset by lower expenses resulting from cost-saving initiatives.” CEO Carolyn Reidy says that the quarter started poorly and then improved. “In […]
Another Steep Drop in Sales at HarperCollins; Borders Braces for Depressed Spending
Sales at HarperCollins dropped by nearly 20 percent in their fiscal third quarter through the end of March, falling by $59 million to $243 million for the period. The unit swung from adjusting operating income of $29 million a year ago to a $38 million loss this quarter, including a $30 million restructuring charge due to the layoffs earlier this year. The drop in sales is only modestly better than the 25 percent drop-off last quarter. The publisher is showing an operating loss for the three quarters of this fiscal year of $12 million (compared to profits of $132 million […]
Harlequin Remains Bright Spot for Torstar
While Torstar’s newspaper business suffers heavily from the advertising slump, sales at the company’s Torstar unit have remained strong, boosted further by the weak Canadian dollar. “Harlequin’s revenues, to date, have not been significantly affected by the global, and in particular, the US economic situation,” the company said. First quarter sales of $124.5 million (CA) were up $14.8 million from a year ago, or 13.5 percent, though $11.5 million of the increase was due to foreign exchange. EBITDA of $21.8 million was up almost 18 percent, from $18.5 million a year ago. The unit took a $1.4 million charge related […]