Lagardere reported Q1 earnings Tuesday, with sales of €460 million in the book division, up €18 million compared to the same period last year. The strengthening US dollar contributed €12 million of the gain, however, and the purchase of Worthy Publishing added €2 million. Lagardere reports that the US business “delivered solid growth” (up 3.3 percent like for like), thanks to “good momentum” in digital audio books. Companywide, digital audio comprised 3.8 percent of sales, up from 2.5 percent a year ago, over 50 percent higher. France also saw “good momentum,” up 1.9 percent like for like, while the UK […]
Earnings Reports
Simon & Schuster Reports Sales and Profit Growth in Q1
CBS reported first quarter results on Thursday afternoon, with Simon & Schuster recording sales of $164 million, up $4 million from the prior year period, attributed to “higher print book sales.” Operating income continued the long-term trend of steady improvement, up $1 million to $17 million. This marks the company’s seventeenth consecutive quarter of growth in profits. Counted outside of operating income was a $5 million charge as part of a CBS-wide voluntary restructuring plan. Similar to Penguin Random House’s voluntary separation offer last year, the initiative was “a one-time offer” of a voluntary buyout “based on a formula having […]
The Big Printers Both Lost Money
The nation’s two biggest printers, Quad and LSC, both reported mediocre first quarter results, as the companies continue to hope to merge by mid-2019. Their reports underscore that demand from trade book publishers has little effect on prospects for these large, diversified players. At LSC, overall sales fell $84 million, or 9.1 percent, to $845 million, with a big net loss of $126 million (due mostly to after-tax charges for a pension settlement charge). Book sales of $260 million were 4.3 percent higher than a year ago (up 2.7 percent on an “organic” basis), which was “driven by increased education […]
Amazon Doubles Net Income, Moves Toward Free One-Day Shipping
Amazon announced Q1 earnings last night, reporting that net income had more than doubled, to $3.6 billion compared to $1.6 billion in the period a year earlier. But cfo Brian Olsavsky warned investors not to expect similar performance in Q2, as the company expects margin growth to decline when it spends around $800 million in the quarter to evolve toward one-day shipping for all Prime members, starting in North America and eventually globally. The stock was trading near flat Friday morning on the reduced profit guidance. While profit was up, sales growth continued to slow, in line with analysts’ expectations. […]
WH Smith to Retool Stores for Kids and Lighter Readers
UK retailer WH Smith released its interim report for the six months ended February 28, 2019, including plans for updates to its High Street store inventory. Total group revenue of £695 million was up 8 percent, with High Street sales — where most of their book sales occur — at £331 million, down £4 million from a year ago. High Street trading profit was £48 million, down £2 million from a year ago. They took a £7 million restructuring charge in the segment, following “a detailed review” that includes closing “around 6 High Street stores.” High Street comp store sales […]
How the New Revenue Rules Affected Penguin Random House’s Sales and More Details
Pearson filed their annual 20-F report with the SEC last week, which includes an extensive set of financial statements for the Penguin Random House venture. Those financials are actually more detailed in some ways than what Bertelsmann releases, and give us additional insight into some important aspects of the company’s performance. Most significantly, Pearson details the exact effect of the new accounting rules for agency ebook sales on PRH’s performance. As you may recall, we explained that Bertelsmann’s application of the new revenue standard — under which they now count the full consumer price paid for ebooks in many instances, […]