Scholastic reported earnings for the fiscal second quarter ended November 30, with sales of $524 million, rebounding $118 million or 29 percent from a year ago. The gain still leaves them short of pre-COVID levels, with sales of $597.2 in 2019 and $604.7 million in 2018. In-person school book fairs resumed at about 70 percent of pre-pandemic levels and the company said those earnings exceeded expectations, with higher sales of educational materials as well, as students returned to school. The operating profit excluding one-time items was $84 million, up from $54 million last year (2019: $105 million; 2018: $98 million), […]
Earnings Reports
Wiley Up in Q2, As Education Publishing Declines
Wiley reported fiscal second quarter results for the period ended October 31, with sales of $533 million, a 9 percent increase from $491 million last year. Adjusted EBITDA was $127.1 million, up from $120.3 million, or 7 percent. Education Publishing sales of $98.6 million were down from $102.4 million last year, “due to softer US enrollment and some easing of prior-year COVID-related tailwinds in content and courseware.” Professional Learning grew 15 percent after last year’s COVID lockdowns, offsetting the Education Publishing decline for a 3 percent lift in the Academic & Professional Learning division overall. The company’s research division grew […]
Online Gift Shop Helps High Street Sales at WH Smith
UK book retailer WH Smith reported preliminary results for the year ended August 31. Overall, sales were £886 million, a decline of 13 percent, with group trading loss of £20m, compared to last year’s loss of £43 million. High Street sales were up slightly at £485m, a 4 percent increase over last year, with High Street trading profit at £19m, up from a loss of (£10m) last year. The lift is attributed to the easing of pandemic lockdowns around the world, and the growth of the company’s websites, particularly the “record performance” of their online greeting card and gift business, […]
Indigo Up in Second Quarter
On Tuesday morning, Indigo announced results for the second quarter 2022 ended October 2, with sales of CA$239 million, up 16.3 percent from $205 million during the same period last year. The company proudly proclaimed results as above pre-pandemic levels, but that’s due in part to a string of weak reports for this period since 2017, when sales were $224.5 million. But the biggest difference had nothing to do with operating sales: Revenue was bolstered by a one-time payment of $17 million from Starbucks, as Indigo renegotiated their contract and closed a number of in-store cafes. Net earnings for the […]
Storytel Keeps Growing, But Will Be At Lower End of 2021 Guidance
Storytel reported third quarter results on Friday, with continued strong growth, including an increase of 19 percent in streaming sales and 27 percent in their subscriber base. But full year projections are now at the lower end of the revised guidance given last quarter, sending shares down 17 percent in a short trading day in Sweden. Streaming sales were 583 million SEK, compared to 490 million a year ago, and book publishing sales were 180 million, up 20 percent from 150 million a year ago. The streaming subscriber base was up 27 percent, to 1,724,000. Like many other publishers in […]
Harper Gains On Strong Market, HMH
News Corp. reported fiscal first quarter sales after the close of the market on Thursday, with HarperCollins showing increases “driven by strong sales and the successful integration of HMH.” Sales were $546 million for the quarter, $88 million higher than a year ago. HMH accounted for $50 million, with adjusted revenue or organic Harper sales up 7.2 percent over last year’s $458 million, helped by $7 million in foreign exchange. (A year ago, HMH recorded sales of $55.7 million in the same quarter, including $4 million in licensing revenue for the Carmen Sandiego series on Netflix.) In the conference call […]