Lagardere Publishing issued their abbreviated second quarter/first half of the year trading update which reports sales–with the second-quarter generating 494.7 million euros–but not profits. Sales are up less than two percent for this quarter after registering slightly above flat in the first quarter. In the US, “growth continued at a rapid pace, driven in particular by the outstanding success of the latest Stephenie Meyer saga.” The UK had “a highly satisfying quarter thanks to bestsellers and children’s books” and in France, Larousse and Hatier “recorded strong growth, but literature saw a further decline.” Overall, the company predicts that “given the […]
Publishers
Scholastic Finishes Soft, Will Continue "Headcount Reduction"
Scholastic reported a soft fourth quarter, with sales from continuing operations of $536.1 million, down 2 percent, and higher operating costs and expenses that left earnings from continuing operations down substantially (by a third) at $49 million. Overall, they had a net loss for the quarter of $13.1 million. (Losses from the direct-to-home continuities business–which it is selling–and the school-based continuities business–which it closed in May–show up on the balance sheet as losses from non-continuing operations now.) Those results missed analysts’ expectations 6 cents a share on earnings and $16 million on sales. For the full year, which included the […]
Courier Takes Big Charge Against Creative Homeowner
In reporting third quarter fiscal 2008 results, Courier Corporation took a “non-cash impairment charge of approximately $23.9 million related to poor performance at Creative Homeowner,” reporting a net loss of $12.4 million against flat sales of $73.4 million. Creative Homeowner “was especially hard hit in the quarter, experiencing slow sales and higher-than-anticipated returns from retailers due to the continued reduction in store traffic at home improvement centers and other large retail chains. Including the allowance for returns, Creative Homeowner’s third-quarter sales were down 45% from a year earlier. The result was a pre-tax loss of $3.6 million” for the period. […]