Amazon reported second quarter sales on Thursday after, with sales rising 25 percent to $38 billion, as earnings were in line with the wide-ranging guidance but towards the lower side where analysts had been hopeful for hitting the end. That translates into operating income of $628 million — down 51 percent — and net income of $197 million, down significantly from $857 million a year ago. Profits are expected to remain low in the quarter to come, with the company forecasting anywhere from a loss of ($400 million) to a gain of $300 million, with the stock down lightly after […]
Earnings Reports
Lagardere Publishing Gains on Acquisitions and UK
Lagardere reported results for the first half of the year, with Lagardere Publishing, moving up modestly on the Perseus acquisition. Sales of €1.019 billion were up €49 million compared to a year ago, with Perseus contributing an added €18 million (the acquisition closed in spring 2016) and other acquisitions added another €6 million. The highlight was Hachette UK, where sales rose 10.2 percent, helped by the summer John Grisham release and “an additional billing week in the period,” with “strong profitability gains in the UK spurred by the success of the catalogue” also driving the gain in profits. Recurring ebit was […]
Activist Investor Is Sure Someone (Else) Should Take Barnes & Noble Private
Another activist investor, Sandell Capital Management, has looked at Barnes & Noble’s beaten down share price and become convinced that with some agitation a private buyer will come forward. The campaign is happening via press release, with Sandell publishing its letter to the BN board asking the company to hire an investment banker to go find someone willing to take the bookseller private. They are convinced a private buyer would like to pay $12 a share or more (or about $900 million), after BKS shares dipped below $7 a share during yesterday’s trading. The immediate effect is that the stock […]
Scholastic Finishes Good Year with Lower Quarter
Scholastic reported fiscal fourth quarter 2017 sales through May 31 of $499.6 million, down $14.2 million from a year ago, on lower sales in children’s publishing and distribution and international. Operating income for the quarter was $64.2 million, up $5.8 million on increased education sales and lower costs. Children’s trade sales were $43.3 million for the quarter (down $2.4 million from a year ago), though for the full year trade sales were $307.9 million on last year’s new Harry Potter books, compared to $211.7 million in fiscal 2016. The Potter gain comprised all of the year’s sales increase and then […]
BN Education Up Modestly In Fourth Quarter
Barnes & Noble Education reported fiscal fourth quarter sales (through April), with new store openings and the MBS Textbook Exchange acquisition lifting sales modestly. Stores sales of $314 million were up $19 million with new stores and a 1.4 percent increase in same-store sales, and MBS added another $34 million in the quarter. They had consolidated net income of just $200,000. The decent finish still left same-store sales down 3 percent for the full fiscal year. Including the small contribution from MBS, sales of $1.874 billion were up $66 million, with consolidated net income of $5.4 million. The company opened 38 […]
Quarto Falls on Profit Warning, and China Literature Heads for IPO
Ahead of reporting results for the first half of 2017, Quarto Group warned that its earnings guidance “for 2017 and beyond has been set too high.” That’s due to both “a lower-than expected trading performance in the year to date” during “the ongoing soft retail environment” as well as an accounting adjustment from the previous year. With their publishing program weighted towards the fall, they still expect “to perform significantly better in the second half.” The wording sounds mild, but the stock market reacted strongly: Quarto’s have fallen over 25 percent since the announcement. Additionally, Brian Porritt has been appointed interim […]