The Hudson Group, the travel retailer and bookstore, released Q4 and full-year 2018 earnings, as well as their first annual report since going public in February 2018. Book sales are registered in a breakout of “literature and publications,” with that segment declining slightly in the three years of data provided, as “confectionary, food, and catering” grew commensurately. Literature and publications comprised 9 percent of company sales in 2018, or $167 million, declining from $176 million and $193 million in 2017 and 2016 respectively. In 2016, literature and publications were almost 12 percent of sales. Meanwhile, the company opened a new […]
Earnings Reports
Lagardere Publishing Profit Falls
After reporting a slight revenue decline of 1.6 percent for full-year 2018 back in February, at €2.252 billion, Lagardere Publishing has now reported full results in line with the expectation that 2018 would be “a more challenging year.” Profits for the year fell more than sales, at €190 million, down 9.5 percent from recurring EBIT of €210 million in 2017. The company said that the weakness in education sales in France — which were down €49 million — “weighed on profitability, as education has a higher operating margin.” Additionally, under nonrecurring items — which as we have observed in the […]
Quarto Reports Soft Sales, But Predicts Better Days
Quarto released full-year results for the year ended December 31, 2018, with revenue of $149 million, down from $153 million in 2017, or 2 percent, “in a time of continued softness in the marketplace and of considerable transition for the group,” according to ceo C.K. Lau, alluding to last year’s dramatic boardroom coup and ensuing reorganizations. The company still isn’t making money, with a pre-tax loss of $100,000, but that’s a lot better than the heavy losses in 2017. Exceptional items were more modest, but still cost $5.2 million for the year — with $2.9 million in reorganization costs, $0.8 […]
Barnes & Noble Stock Drops After Q3 Earnings Disappoint
From a short-term, publisher perspective, Barnes & Noble’s fiscal third quarter report was in line with their holiday sales update, showing sales just $400,000 below flat at $1.231 billion. Actual book sales did fall a bit, by $7.6 million or 1.2 percent, as non-book sales rose $19.1 million, or 4.9 percent, particularly as the company picked up the slack in the toy market. From a more existential, investor perspective, though, it was another poor quarter with little prospect of improvement on the horizon. Adjusted EBITDA of $133 million was down $6.5 million, due to the increased marketing and promotional spend […]
Wiley Reports Significant Decline in Publishing for Q3
Wiley reported fiscal third quarter earnings Tuesday morning, with overall sales down slightly, to $449 million from $456 million, representing “favorable underlying growth throughout, except in book publishing,” according to president and ceo Brian Napack. Operating income dropped more significantly, however, to $50 million from $65 million a year ago, or 23 percent. The results include $13 million in sales from the recent acquisition of Learning House, and -$6 million in operating income. Just after 11 a.m., the stock was trading down about 15 percent from the prior day’s close. STM and professional publishing sales fell $16.2 million or 20 […]
Barnes & Noble Education Stock Falls on Reduced Guidance
Barnes & Noble Education’s shares were down close to 30 percent in the first two hours of trading on Tuesday, after the company once again released lower-than-expected earnings and reduced guidance. Fiscal third quarter sales of $550 million fell 8.8 percent, down from $603 million a year ago. (Second quarter sales had fallen 8.1 percent; first quarter sales were down 5.1 percent.) Non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA was $22 million, down from $34.6 million in the prior year period. The continuing poor results led the company to reduce its 2019 guidance, with consolidated sales now expected to be in the range of […]