Earnings Reports

Pearson published their full year-end report for 2021, after a brief update in January, with results “ahead of expectations.” Sales were £3.438 billion, an underlying growth of 8 percent over 2020, “reflecting underlying performance, portfolio changes and currency movements.” Operating profit was £183, down significantly from £411, due to the 2020 sale of shares in PRH and restructuring costs in 2021. Adjusted operating profit was £385 million, compared to £313 million last year, a 33 percent increase, “driven by operating leverage on revenue growth and cost savings offsetting cost inflation and investment to accelerate future growth.” Providing more details about […]

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt announced results for the fourth quarter and full year 2021. Sales in the quarter were $179 million, up 26.7 percent from $141 million the year before. For the year, sales were $1.051 billion, a 25 percent increase from $840 million in 2020. Operating income was $48.2 million, up from a loss of $(447.9) million the year before (when they took a large goodwill impairment charge). Net income was  $2.1 million, compared to a loss of $(470.7) million last year. The company canceled its earnings call due to the recent announcement of a pending sale to Veritas Capital. […]

Swedish ebook streaming service and publisher Storytel issued their formal 2021 annual report. But the bigger parallel news was the announcement that founder Jonas Tellander is stepping down as ceo, effective immediately, while remaining on the board. Ingrid Bojner takes over as interim ceo as the board searches for a permanent successor. “It’s time for new leadership at Storytel, 17 years of full focus on Storytel has taken its toll. The team is now stronger than ever and will, under Ingrid’s leadership, take big steps this year,” Tellander said. “Personally, after a little time off, I look forward to continuing to […]

Lagardere reported fourth quarter and full year results, with publishing division sales of €772 million in Q4, up 10.3 percent from €700 million last year. These results were driven by €24 million from the acquisition of Workman, and €16 million in foreign exchange as the British pound depreciated. For the full year, publishing sales were €2.598 billion, up 9.4 percent from €2.375 billion a year ago. Recurring EBIT rose substantially, to a record of €351 million, up €105 million over last year. The company said the higher margin “was driven by business growth, a favorable sales mix and disciplined cost […]

ViacomCBS — rebranding as Paramount Global — reported fourth quarter and full-year results for the period ending December 31, with year-end sales at Simon & Schuster of $993 million, up 10.2 percent from last year’s record high of $901 million. Sales for the quarter were $268 million, up 6.3 percent from $252 million in the same period last year, with operating income of $42 million. Operating income was $213 million for the year, up significantly from $141 million in 2020 and $127 million in 2019. CEO Jonathan Karp said, “It was an extraordinary year all around” with “growth in every […]

Indigo announced results for their fiscal third quarter ending January 1, with sales of CA$431 million, up from $365 million last year and $384 million in 2019. (This is their fiscal 2022; but we’re using calendar years here for simplicity.) The company is back to its 2018 holiday sales level of $426 million, before its pre-pandemic decline, attributed to “a renewed interest in reading” and strong sales in the company’s lifestyle and toy businesses. Net earnings were $45.1 million, up from $30.7 million last year. The company’s shares rose sharply on the strong holiday sales report, gaining about 24 percent […]