Sales fell 2.5 percent at Simon & Schuster in their fiscal second quarter, down $4.6 million at $181 million for the period, while OIBDA dropped by more than half at $8.1 million, down from $17 million a year ago. Straight operating income was $6.1 million, down from $14.6 million a year ago. The company says the sales decline was “principally reflecting the unfavorable impact of foreign exchange rate changes,” while the earnings hit was “largely driven by higher author royalties and restructuring charges of $2.2 million related to headcount reductions partially offset by lower employee-related expenses resulting from cost-savings initiatives.” […]
Publishers
Summer Report Card
With earnings results announced from most of the publicly-reporting companies with trade publishing divisions, we’ve assembled a little chart of the recent summer school grades. The primary drivers of success in the current marketplace are either a) Stephenie Meyer or b) currency exchange. When underlying businesses are strong most companies will tell you that foreign exchange doesn’t matter that much to them but in a declining market the impact–both positive and negative–becomes more prominent. PublishersLagardere +10.4% (FX was marginal; rest of year comp will be lower due to Stephenie Meyer)Harlequin +8.7% (all FX)S&S -2.5% (“principally” FX)Penguin +11% […]
Harper In the Red for Q4 As Sales Fall Over 20 Percent
HarperCollins swung from profit of $28 million a year ago to an operating loss of $4 million for their fiscal fourth quarter, including a $3 million impairment/operating charge, finishing the year with an operating loss of $16 million (including $33 million in impairment/operating charges), compared to $160 million in operating income a year ago. (They still show “adjusted operating income” of $17 million for the year.) News Corp. says the deterioration is “largely due to the weak retail market.” Sales for the fourth quarter fell $72 million at Harper, down 20.5 percent, at $278 million. Full-year sales for the publisher […]
International Earnings: Mondadori Down More than 20%; Restructuring To Come
Sales at Italy’s book and magazine giant Mondadori fell over 21 percent in the first six months of the year, to 730 million euros (from 930 million a year ago). Net income fell further still, down 80 percent to 7.3 million euros (with EBITDA of 40 million euros, down 61.5 percent). The company also carries 474 million euros of debt. Despite the drops, Mondadori’s results were actually ahead of analysts’ expectations. Reuters says “it gave no clear indication about much-awaited cost cuts but said it expected a ‘strong’ restructuring in the coming months.” The company called the year “difficult and […]
Results Rise at Harlequin on Weak Canadian Dollar, But Retail Sales Decline
In a mixed second quarter report, Harlequin parent Torstar said book sales rose 8.7 percent to $249 million (CA), though the increase was due almost entirely to the weaker Canadian dollar. Currency exchange comprised most of the profit gains as well, up $2.4 million at $19.7 million for the period. “Underlying results were up in the overseas and North America direct-to-consumer divisions and down in North America retail.” And the company expects weaker results in the second half of their year. They expect to grow “but not at the rate realized in the first half.” The company notes: “Harlequin continues […]
Sales Rise at Penguin on Currency; Profits Decline, But Education Powers Pearson Gain
Sales rose 22 percent at Pearson for the first half of their fiscal year, at 2.398 billion pounds, with earnings of 28 million pounds, compared to a loss of 62 million pounds this time a year ago. Education, which comprises over 60 percent of the total revenues, was up 29 percent for the period. Penguin sales of 452 million pounds were up 11 percent from a year ago, or 44 million pounds, though operating profit for the division fell 19 percent to 21 million pounds, down from 26 million pounds a year ago. The sales gain was due entirely to […]