Publishers

Lagardere reported financial results for the first quarter on Friday afternoon, with the publishing division recording sales of €623 million, up 8 percent from €576 million a year ago. The company said sales were up 4.6 percent on a like-for-like basis. They reported “good momentum across all geographic areas, as well as strong and sustained growth in board games.” That segment rose 13 percent in the quarter. The unit with the most growth was Hachette UK, where sales rose 13 percent, thanks in large part to Rebecca Yarros’s ONYX STORM. In the US, sales were just above flat on a […]

Bertelsmann announced full year results for 2024, with sales at Penguin Random House hitting a new record of €4.917 billion, up 8.5 percent from €4.532 billion. Revenues rose “primarily due to higher sales prices, a broad range of titles across all genres and growth in audiobook sales,” with “positive business performance, especially in the United States,” also driven by the continuing “expansion of its portfolio” (acquisitions). Operating EBITDA grew as well, to €739 million, up from €664 million in 2023, when profits had been flat.  The “earnings growth [was] due to both revenue and savings achieved largely through the reorganization […]

Scholastic released financial results for the third quarter ended February 28, with sales up 4 percent to $335 million, due to the acquisition of 9 Story Media and stronger sales in the school reading events segment (which comprises book clubs and book fairs). “Scholastic achieved modest revenue growth and improved operating results in the third quarter,” president and ceo Peter Warwick said in a release. “Despite increasing pressure on family and school spending on books and educational materials, strong performance by school book fairs and clubs, successful new titles and the addition of 9 Story Media Group contributed to positive […]

Pearson released their full financial results for 2024 after a preliminary report last month, in which they reported sales down 3 percent to £3.55 billion (attributed to currency fluctuations) and operating profit up 9 percent to £541 million. “2024 was another year of good financial performance,” cfo Sally Johnson stated in the report. “The progress we have made over recent years shows real momentum in the business, which gives us confidence in delivering our guidance for 2025 and beyond.” Higher education sales were £826 million compared to £855 million, down 3 percent on a headline basis and up 1 percent […]

Wiley reported results from the third quarter ended January 31, with adjusted sales of $405 million, down from $461 million, due to the loss of sales from divested businesses. Operating income was $51.8 million for the quarter, compared to a loss of $(46.4) million in 2024, when there was a big impairment for writedown of goodwill. Income before taxes was $18.7 million, up from $(112.3) million. The learning segment, which includes textbook sales, fell 6 percent for sales of $137 million, due to softness in academic sales and an unfavorable comparison to the previous year, which included a $6 million […]

Bonnier Books reported results for the full year 2024, with net sales of SEK 8.39 billion, up 4 percent from 2023—a record for the company. EBITDA fell 10 percent to SEK 684 million, though they say “adjusted for items affecting comparability, [the number] represents an improvement of SEK 176 million.” Sales improved in Sweden, Finland, and the UK, and Germany “once again had a good year.” The books and news segments contributed to overall success for the company, ceo Erik Haegerstrand said in a release. Overall group net sales increased slightly to SEK 23.19 billion and EBITDA was “the highest […]