For the six months ended June 30, International coedition and publishing group Quarto made a pretax loss of 3.1 million pounds against a 400,000 pound profit last time as revenues rose to 43.8 million pounds from 36.6 million pounds. Revenue increased by 20% to £43.8m on an adjusted basis, with underlying sales growth of 4%. Adjusted operating profit was £2.3m, growth of 33%, or 4% on an underlying basis. The group’s actual operating loss was £1.3m, compared with an operating profit in the same period last year of £1.6m. The loss came after restructuring costs of £2.7m associated with the […]
Publishers
Profile Books Remains Upbeat in Face of Profit Decline
For the fiscal year ending in March 2008, Profile Books reported a turnover of £7.58m and net assets increased by 18%, down from 2007’s turnover of £9.09m and 23% net asset increase. Pre-tax profit came in at £1.03m euros and operating profits were £770,000, down more than half from 2007. The publisher cited a lack of a number one bestseller for the downturn from last year’s “exceptional” figures. Managing director Andrew Franklin said: “These are very pleasing figures. Some years we publish a runaway bestseller and it’s a fabulous bonus when we do, but even without one these results show […]
S&S Falls Short
CBS reported sales at Simon & Schuster for the second quarter of $186 million, down 7 percent from a year ago. It’s the third straight quarterly decline for the publishing unit and once again the statement says that “bestselling titles…did not match contributions from prior year titles.” OIBDA and operating income decreased 15 percent to $17 million and 19 percent to $14.6 million, respectively, with “lower revenues partially offset by lower royalty expenses.” In additional remarks the company indicated they “are also feeling, as we did the last quarter, the effects of higher freight costs,” and are seeing higher paper […]
Harlequin Turns in Better Quarter
Torstar reported second quarter earnings with sales at their Harlequin unit of $119 million (CA) up 3.5 percent from a year ago, and EBITDA of $19.8 million up 44 percent (for a margin of 16.6 percent). The company says Harlequin “is well on track to deliver solid growth for the year, albeit not at the pace of the second quarter…. After a very strong second quarter, we expect Harlequin’s growth to moderate in the second half of the year resulting in solid growth for the year as a whole. The U.S. economy could have a negative impact on Harlequin’s results, […]
Earnings Bits
In a Bloomberg story before CBS’s earnings release tomorrow, investors and analysts express dissatisfaction with parent company CBS’s expensive $1.8 billion purchase of CNet and subsequent 30 percent drop in their stock since May. Portfolio manager John Miller (whose firm held 5.5 million shares this March) wishes CBS would sell Simon & Schuster and spend $1.5 billion on a stock buyback program. Other investors are hoping for news of a buyback, and CEO Leslie Moonves says in a phone interview, “Because of our strong balance sheet, we are still in a position to buy back stock. We haven’t ruled that […]
Penguin Jumps in First Half; Informa Deal Looms
With parent company Pearson reporting financial results for the first half of the fiscal year, Penguin continued their hot streak with sales up 9 percent to 408 million pounds and profits up 22 percent to 26 million pounds. The company says “Penguin has made an excellent start to the year, with a particularly strong first-half publishing schedule. It is on track to reach its goal of double digit margins for the full year.” In a follow-up call, group ceo John Makinson offers a “slightly cautious note” for the balance of the year. He notes that current results are “somewhat influenced […]