After a preliminary report a month ago, Barnes & Noble Education announced full results for their second quarter ended October 26, with sales down 1.4 percent to $602 million due to the closing of 109 physical and virtual stores (many of which, they say, were underperforming). Previously they estimated sales would “essentially flat.” Net income doubled to $49.7 million, up from $24.9 million, “due to improved operating income, lower interest expense, and reduced restructuring and other charges.” Adjusted EBITDA was up 29.1 percent to $66 million, attributed to $13 million in cost savings from closed stores, “productivity initiatives.” They estimate […]
Earnings Reports
Wiley Looks Toward “Continuous Improvement”
Wiley announced results for the second quarter ended October 31, reporting sales of $427 million, down 13 percent due to the loss of revenue from divested businesses. Operating income grew 39 percent to $64 million. President and ceo Matthew Kissner said, “Continuous improvement is a way of life for us now, and it’s beginning to pay off in our quality growth and margin expansion. Learning has had a good year so far, both academic and professional, and research delivered low-single digit growth with leading indicators and favorable comparisons signaling a better second half ahead.” Notably, Kissner also said, “Additionally, we […]
High Street Will Continue to Become A Smaller Segment at WH Smith
On Thursday, British retailer WH Smith reported sales for the full year ended August 31. For the year, sales rose 7 percent to £1.918 billion with profit before tax and non-underlying items up 16 percent to £166 million. High street sales were “in line with expectations” at £452 million, down 4 percent from £469 million. Profit of £39 million was down from £43 million a year ago. The company made plain what has been clear for a while from their results and their strategy: As they grow the travel business, the high street division—which accounts for about 15 percent of […]
Audiobooks Contribute to Higher Spotify Margins
In its third quarter earnings report on Tuesday, Spotify noted that audiobooks (along with music) contributed to a gross margin increase for the brand’s premium offering, up 473 bps to 31.1 percent. Premium subscribers grew 12 percent compared to a year ago, up to 252 million. Those subscribers are up 6 million from the second quarter and the company expects to add another 8 million in the current quarter. Overall sales for the company were up 19 percent to €3.988 billion ($4.227 billion at current exchange rates) and operating income was €454 million. According to the Wall Street Journal, “a […]
PRH Helps Bertelsmann’s Organic Growth
Bertelsmann released a brief financial update on the first nine months of the year. In the third quarter, Bertelsmann’s sales were approximately €4.4 billion ($4.66 billion at current exchange rates), compared to €4.9 billion last year. They say top titles in the quarter for Penguin Random House were Nicholas Sparks’ Counting Miracles (published in Germany and referred to in the release as Our Time of Wonder) and Yuval Noah Harari’s Nexus. For the year-to-date, the company’s sales were down 8.4 percent to €13.4 billion ($14.2 billion), still attributed to the sale of Majorel. Organic growth for the year stands at […]
BNED Estimates Flat Sales, With Full Numbers To Come
Barnes & Noble Education released only preliminary results for their second quarter ended October 26, historically their biggest and most profitable period. Sales are expected to be “approximately flat” — compared to a weak performance a year ago, when they reached $617 million (down from $627 million the prior year and well below pre-pandemic levels of $772 million in 2019). They estimate net income registered between $44 million and $49 million, compared to $25 million last year, “driven by comparable store top-line growth and continued improvements in cost management.” After a first quarter loss of $(99.5) million, the company is […]