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 […]
Earnings Reports
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 […]
Spotify Partnership Bolsters Harper Sales
News Corp reported financial results for the first quarter of fiscal year 2025, ended September 30, with publishing sales up 4 percent to $546 million, rising by $21 million. EBITDA was up 25 percent to $81 million, gaining $16 million, driven by backlist sales and strong digital sales. Those digital sales were up 15 percent over the prior year, especially boosted by digital audio, which grew 26 percent, attributed to their partnership with Spotify. Ebooks sales rose 7 percent “after a period of relative sluggishness,” ceo Robert Thomson said on a call with investors on Thursday. Together, ebooks and digital […]
Higher Ed Sales Grow in Pearson’s Third Quarter
Pearson released a trading update for the third quarter, reporting that overall sales were up 4 percent. They note that all segments grew in the quarter, including Higher Education, which had been on the decline. Sales for the Higher Education business, which includes textbooks, were up 4 percent in the quarter, “driven by the operational and business changes implemented over the past 18 months.” In the US, the gains were due to increased adoptions, enrollment, and pricing. The company expects the segment to reflect growth for the full year. “Pearson is delivering on the three priorities for 2024 that I […]
Storytel Continues to Grow Profits, As New CEO Takes Over
Storytel reported results for the third quarter ended September 30, with sales up 7 percent to SEK954 million ($91.6 million). Gross profit gained 18 percent to SEK434 million with operating profit of SEK 87 million. EBITDA was up 67 percent to SEK161 million. Those continuing profits along with increased guidance for the full year lifted the company’s stock. On October 1, Bodil Eriksson Torp became ceo of the company. In a release, she notes, “Under my leadership, we will continue to move the world through a story, explore new possibilities, and push the boundaries of what can be achieved—all in […]