UK bookseller Waterstones reported results for the fiscal year ending back on April 29, 2017, which the UK media has reported with their customary excess of enthusiasm. What the numbers show is that sales were flat or somewhat down, at £404 million, compared to £409 million in fiscal 2016 (which was an unusual 53-week year). Actual profit after tax of £16 million was down £1.5 million (or 9 percent). But the headlines declare “Waterstones’ annual profits jump 80%.” That’s referring to profit before tax, which indeed was £18 million, up from £9.9 million a year ago. (Last year they captured […]
Earnings Reports
Corporate: Pearson Celebrates the Mediocre, UMB and Informa Try Again
Despite Pearson’s recent string of disappointing results, which have wiped out half of the company’s market value over the past two and half years, their official releases maintain an orderly calm, using various comparison stats to make their world seem stable. The newest trading update fits squarely in that genre; they expect that full-year earnings will be at the higher end of their very modest guidance — if only the dollar had not dropped in value against the pound, so actual profit is below that guidance (but it’s not their fault). And while they are “expecting growth” in 2018, given […]
Holiday Book Sales Were Fine, But Not At Barnes & Noble; Chain Reduces Earnings Guidance
Unfortunately Barnes & Noble continues to underperform the book business as a whole, disclosing holiday sales in contrast to the industry trend. Sales for the nine weeks ending December 30 were $953 million, down 6.4 percent compared to the prior year, and down the same percentage on a same-store business. Book sales on their own were down 4.5 percent, consistent with the company’s report at the end of November that their non-book product was performing poorly and being curtailed. For the holiday period, “declines in the gift, music and DVD categories accounted for nearly half of the comparable store sales decrease.” […]
Scholastic Slides On Potter Comp
Scholastic reported fiscal second quarter results on Thursday morning, with sales of $598 million down $25 million (or 4 percent) from a year ago. Operating profit from continuing operations was $107 million, down $5 million, and net income fell further, at $57.1 million, compared to $67.9 million a year ago. Results were below analysts’ expectation. Trade publishing sales were $80.9 million, down $17.6 million from a year ago — when the company benefited from Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them screenplay. Nonetheless, Scholastic said trade sales had “exceeded expectations with exceptionally strong performance […]
Wiley Gains on Better Than Expected Results
Wiley reported higher sales and better earnings than analysts were expecting for their fiscal second quarter and the stock gained almost five percent in trading on the news Thursday, coming close to the all-time high from early 2015. Sales were up 6 percent to $452 million, and adjusted net income of $59.3 million was up from $5.1 million a year ago. In a break with recent trends, STM publishing of $71.5 million was up $3.5 million, and education publishing of $57.7 million was just above flat. That included 5 percent growth in digital and “lower than expected declines in print.” At the same […]
Barnes Education Grows Profits On Still-Weak Sales
Barnes & Noble Education has performed so poorly that an uptick in profits for their fiscal second quarter — even as college bookstore and textbook sales comps fell — has lifted the stock. With net income for the back-to-school quarter of $48.4 million, compared to $29.3 million, the stock rose almost 25 percent in early trading on Tuesday. Even with that, shares are still down by about a third for the year, and after spending $58.5 million for Student Brands and $174 million for MBS Textbook Exchange during the year, the improved market cap is still only about $365 million. […]