Publishers

News Corp. reported results for their fiscal first quarter, ending September, in which operating income all but vanished at HarperCollins, down to $3 million from $36 million, “due to a higher returns provision in North America combined with lower third-party distribution income” according to the release. (This quarter a year ago they profited from distributing Harry Potter for Scholastic.) CEO Brian Murray explained to us that the returns provision was related to their accounting (and reserves against sales of new titles) rather than associated with any particular set of titles or accounts. Sales of $315 million were 4.5 percent lower […]

In other results, Courier Corporation reported fourth quarter sales of $76.3 million, down 5 percent, with net income falling over 23 percent to $7.2 million. Sales fell 18 percent in their publishing division to $16.4 million and income fell further at $1.1 million, versus $2.6 million earlier. Their Creative Homeowner line, which was hit early by the declining economy, continued to shrink, with sales down 33 percent in the fourth quarter, “reflecting the continuing nationwide housing crisis and resulting reductions in store traffic at home improvement centers.” Among the cutbacks, they will no longer distribute other company’s books through Creative […]

Lagardere Publishing reported third quarter sales ending September 30 of 637 euros, down by 1.6 percent compared to last year in absolute terms. (You’ll notice our report likely diverges from others, since the official company release charts results for the nine months of the fiscal year and concludes they are still rising; we actually break out the calculator to look at quarterly numbers). The company does not usually quantify currency effects, but this time around the impact was so significant they couldn’t help themselves, noting that “because Lagardere Publishing generates over 40 percent of its revenues in the dollar and […]

Simon & Schuster broke from three straight quarters of sales and profit declines with a strong third-quarter showing. Sales of $225 million were up 5 percent from $214 million a year ago (though they are still down 5 percent overall thus far in the fiscal year). OIBDA and operating income were both up 8 percent compared to a year ago, at $25.8 million and $23.4 million respectively. The report credits “the success of best-selling titles in the third quarter of 2008, including The War Within by Bob Woodward and Real Life: Preparing For the 7 Most Challenging Days of Your […]

With Canada’s Torstar reporting results for the their third quarter, their Harlequin unit “had a solid quarter and remains on course for a good year of growth,” even as the economy weakens. The company says “we remain concerned that the US economy could have a negative impact on Harlequin’s results, but to date there is no evidence of this.” In part, the weaker Canadian dollar makes US sales more valuable, though in an odd dichotomy, the company credits foreign exchange for helping to lift sales this period, yet blames FX for reduced profits. Sales for the quarter were $118 million […]