In a Bloomberg story before CBS’s earnings release tomorrow, investors and analysts express dissatisfaction with parent company CBS’s expensive $1.8 billion purchase of CNet and subsequent 30 percent drop in their stock since May. Portfolio manager John Miller (whose firm held 5.5 million shares this March) wishes CBS would sell Simon & Schuster and spend $1.5 billion on a stock buyback program. Other investors are hoping for news of a buyback, and CEO Leslie Moonves says in a phone interview, “Because of our strong balance sheet, we are still in a position to buy back stock. We haven’t ruled that […]
Earnings Reports
Penguin Jumps in First Half; Informa Deal Looms
With parent company Pearson reporting financial results for the first half of the fiscal year, Penguin continued their hot streak with sales up 9 percent to 408 million pounds and profits up 22 percent to 26 million pounds. The company says “Penguin has made an excellent start to the year, with a particularly strong first-half publishing schedule. It is on track to reach its goal of double digit margins for the full year.” In a follow-up call, group ceo John Makinson offers a “slightly cautious note” for the balance of the year. He notes that current results are “somewhat influenced […]
Lagardere Nudges Up
Lagardere Publishing issued their abbreviated second quarter/first half of the year trading update which reports sales–with the second-quarter generating 494.7 million euros–but not profits. Sales are up less than two percent for this quarter after registering slightly above flat in the first quarter. In the US, “growth continued at a rapid pace, driven in particular by the outstanding success of the latest Stephenie Meyer saga.” The UK had “a highly satisfying quarter thanks to bestsellers and children’s books” and in France, Larousse and Hatier “recorded strong growth, but literature saw a further decline.” Overall, the company predicts that “given the […]
Scholastic Finishes Soft, Will Continue "Headcount Reduction"
Scholastic reported a soft fourth quarter, with sales from continuing operations of $536.1 million, down 2 percent, and higher operating costs and expenses that left earnings from continuing operations down substantially (by a third) at $49 million. Overall, they had a net loss for the quarter of $13.1 million. (Losses from the direct-to-home continuities business–which it is selling–and the school-based continuities business–which it closed in May–show up on the balance sheet as losses from non-continuing operations now.) Those results missed analysts’ expectations 6 cents a share on earnings and $16 million on sales. For the full year, which included the […]
Amazon's Growth Continues in Q2
Amazon reported second quarter sales of $4.06 billion, up 41 percent, and net income of $158 million, more than double what they recorded last year. Those results were ahead of the consensus analyst expectations in both sales and earnings. North American media sales of $1.148 billion were up 25 percent, once again exceeded by international media sales of $1.258 billion, which rose 38 percent, helped considerably by foreign exchange. (International media sales were up the same 25 percent increment excluding exchange rates. Media incorporates “books, movies, music, digital downloads, software and video games, including game consoles.”) The company remained true […]
Corporate Report Cards Due
It’s time for a run of earnings reports from publicly-held companies again. Scholastic leads this wave with their earnings release, set for tomorrow morning. They are followed quickly by: Pearson/Penguin Group, on July 28 (pre-market opening) CBS/Simon & Schuster, on July 31 (pre-market opening) News Corp./HarperCollins, on August 5 (after the close) More follow toward the end of the August, including: Barnes & Noble, on August 18 (after the close) Books-a-Million, on August 18 (after the close) Borders, on Aug 26 (after the close) Bertelsmann, on August 28 (report on the first 6 months) Lagardere, on August 28 (report on […]