ViacomCBS ceo Bob Bakish told employees on Wednesday that most staffers will not start returning to the office until October 18 “at the very earliest,” as the company monitors the Delta variant. Bakish wrote that their broader “green phase,” when most of the employees are expected to resume some office presence, would start in late October and still comprise a hybrid work model at that point. Simon & Schuster follows all ViacomCBS policies. Any employees who return prior to the October 18 date will be required to be fully vaccinated, except for “certain union, production and essential on-site personnel.” Bakish […]
Earnings Reports
Quarto Shows Profit on Sales Rebound, Expresses Concern on Shipping and Printing Costs
Quarto reported sales for the first half of 2021, with revenues rebounding to pre-Covid levels: They had sales of $56.9 million — “against a weak comparative” of $46.9 million last year, and in line with $56.4 million in 2019, and $56.2 million in 2019. They showed an actual profit before tax as well, of $3 million, compared to a loss of ($4) million last year. Notably, the outlook for the second half of the year includes a warning that many publishers are experiencing: “One area of concern is the volatility in freight, with capacity issues and freight costs increasing 3 […]
Pearson Recovers A Bit, Launches Textbook Subscription
Pearson announced six-month results for the period ended June 30, with sales of £1.597 billion, up £105 million or 7 percent from last year’s pandemic low. But those sales are still low compared to the £1.83 billion recorded in the same period in 2019. Global Online Learning was up 25 percent, “driven by strong growth in US Virtual Schools.” North American higher ed courseware sales were £346 million, down £29 million from a year ago (-8%) but up 2 percent on an “underlying” basis, excluding foreign exchange and portfolio changes, as increases in Canada outweighed the decline in US. Global […]
Lagardere Publishing Has “Decade-High” First Half Earnings
Trade publishers have had a strong first half of the year, with Lagardere Publishing the latest to produce evidence: Sales for the first six months registered €1.130 billion, up 16.4 percent from €971 million a year ago, when sales had fallen €70 million in the second quarter. This year’s second quarter sales were €621 million — compared to €514 million in 2020, and €584 million in 2019. Significantly, the group reported “decade-high” recurring EBIT for the six-month period of of €110 million — compared to just €27 million in 2020, and €36 million in the first-half of 2019. (Lagardere Publishing […]
Scholastic Up for the Quarter but Down for the Year
Scholastic reported earnings for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021, ending May 31, with sales of $401 million, rebounding strongly from $284 million a year ago — the first pandemic quarter — up 41% percent. In a release, the company cites “improving market conditions, strong demand for foundational literacy programs and summer reading, and top selling trade titles.” The company showed operating income of $9.7 million, back in the black compared to an operating loss a year ago of $46.2 million. Earnings were still held back by one-time pre-tax items, including settlement charges of $20 million “related to intellectual property […]
Bloomsbury Up 28% In First Third
Bloomsbury issued a trading update ahead of today’s annual meeting, reporting sales for the four month period ending June 30, with trade sales of £39.7 million, up 26 percent from £31.5 million last year. Adult trades revenues rose 17 percent and children’s sales were up 32 percent. Company-wide sales of ¢63 million were up 28 percent, from £49.5 million a year ago. Their recent acquisitions of Head of Zeus added £859,000 in consumer adult sales, and Red Globe Press added £478,000 to the non-consumer academic and professional segment. They still “are actively targeting further acquisition opportunities in line with our […]