Wiley reported second quarter sales for the period ending October 31, with sales falling 5 percent to $433 million (down $44 million) on currency exchange. Adjusted operating income of $64 million was down 13 percent for the quarter, and net income was down $8 million (or 11 percent) to $45.9 million. In the professional development division, which includes their remaining trade books, revenue dropped 3 percent overall to $99.2 million. Book sales were down 6 percent, however, with print book sales of $49.2 million declining 4 percent, and digital book sales of $11.9 million were down 14 percent. For the rest of fiscal […]
Earnings Reports
Barnes & Noble Education Falters During Key Back-to-School Quarter
Barnes & Noble Education followed in the footsteps of their former parent company with a disappointing second quarter sales report — only it matters more to BNED, since this was supposed to be their big “fall rush” season. Sales of $755.9 million were up $4.2 million, but net income fell by $3.6 million to $33.4. (They opened 7 new stores in the quarter, which added $6.6 million in sales.) EBITDA fell as well, at $72.7 million, down $5.2 million. Same-store sales dropped 3 percent in the quarter. CEO Max Roberts said in the release, “This fall rush period was negatively […]
Barnes & Noble Selloff Worse Than Expected After Disappointing Quarter, Poor Explanation
It seemed grim enough when Barnes & Noble’s stock fell 4.5 percent before they announced fiscal second quarter earnings after the close of the market Thursday and then dropped another 12 percent in after-hours trading when they failed to meet investors modest expectations. A tone-deaf planted piece in Friday’s NYT didn’t help, as new ceo Ronald Boire tried to pitch BN as some kind of broader “lifestyle brand” — and in the first hour of regular trading Friday morning BN shares declined over 20 percent, falling $2.50 a share to about $9.55 a share. (For perspective, right after spinning off BN College as a […]
Barnes & Noble Disappoints Low Expectations
Barnes & Noble reported fiscal second quarter earnings on Thursday afternoon after the close of the market, with sales through October 31 falling $42 million or 4.5 percent compared to a year ago, to $895 million. Though the charge due to the BN College spinoff was lower than expected — a $10.5 million executive severance payment, and investment banking fees of $7 million — EBITDA was negative, at a loss of $20.5 million. Worse, the net loss from continuing operations was $27.2 million or 36 cents per share, compared to a loss of $5.1 million, or 16 cents a share a year ago. […]
Books-A-Million Flat On Slightly Higher Comps
Still a publicly-traded company for now, Books-a-Million reported third quarter results on Tuesday afternoon. Sales of $101.6 million were $400,000 ahead of sales from a year ago, with same-store sales up 1.6 percent. But the company’s loss was slightly higher, by $200,000, at $7.1 million or 50 cents a share. The company attributed that to $800,000 in expenses related to the Anderson family’s pending buyout. In the release, ceo Terrance Finley said, “We saw improved sales in our core book and general merchandise categories, led by the positive impact of the growing coloring book trend. We also hosted several author events, namely those highlighting […]
Lagardere Gains On Currency As HBG USA Waits for Fourth Quarter
Lagardere reported third quarter sales on Tuesday, with the publishing division growing 2 percent on a like-for-like basis and 7.4 percent overall — thanks to a still surging dollar and strong UK pound — at €607 million, up €43 million from a year ago. Foreign exchange accounted for €32 million of the gain. (Similarly, for the first nine months of the year, foreign exchange accounts for €102 million of the unit’s gains, with €21 million coming from acquisitions, primarily in the UK.) Hachette Book Group USA had another decline, down 4.2 percent in the third quarter, “mainly due to challenging comparison with brisk sales in third quarter […]