Publishers

Paramount Global reported first quarter 2022 results on Tuesday morning, with sales at Simon & Schuster of $217 million, up $32 million or 17 percent. The company recorded operating income of $50 million, up significantly over $27 million a year ago. In a memo to staff, ceo Jonathan Karp attributed the continued growth to “the strength of our backlist, favorable returns projections, and the BookTok phenomenon.” He said that, “All of our publishing groups, nationally and internationally, and our distribution client business had double-digit growth.” With those tailwinds Simon & Schuster outperformed the industry, which has been reckoning with very […]

Pearson gave a brief first quarter trading update on Friday. Their actual textbook publishing business, reported through the higher ed segment and still their second-largest division, was down 5 percent, “due to expected declines in US Higher Education reflecting the continued decline in enrollments and courses per enrollment.” International textbook businesses that are up for sale (“under strategic review” in corporate-speak) fell by 11 percent, “as expected.” But overall “underlying sales” — which leave aside currency exchange, which can have a big influence on their actual results, rose 7 percent in the period. Separately, the company announced another new acquisition, […]

Lagardere reported first quarter sales for the period ended March 31, with publishing sales of €554 million, up from €509 million, an 8.7 percent topline increase over the first quarter of 2021. Most of the gains came from acquisitions — adding €25 million in all, including €22 million from Workman, and €17 million in foreign exchange gains, with the euro steadily losing ground against the US dollar and British pound. The sale of Brainbow reduced sales by about €1 million. The company cited the pattern of increased pandemic sales as well, while noting that “March saw the emergence of less […]

Bertelsmann reported financial results for 2021, with Penguin Random House showing increased revenues and operating results “thanks to numerous successful new releases, robust backlist sales and continued high demand for digital audiobooks.” Sales were €4.03 billion, up 6 percent from €3.802 in 2020. Operating EBITDA was €755 million compared to €691 million, a 9.2 percent increase. The company noted, “In addition to the recovery of the advertising-financed businesses, the positive performance of the book publishing and services businesses was a key factor in this strong revenue growth.” US-based sales were €2.275 billion, up €67 million. (That growth is made smaller […]

Bloomsbury issued a second increase to their full year guidance for the year ended February 28 after a strong final month, now expecting sales of £212.5 million and profit before taxation and highlighted items of £22.3 million. The results are due predominantly to the newest title from Sarah J. Maas, which “instantly became a number one global bestseller” in February. The Bloomsbury Digital Resources division also exceeded the company’s target, with £15 million of sales and £5 million in profit in the year. The company will release their preliminary results in May. Additionally, John Bason will join the board as a […]

Scholastic reported earnings for the fiscal third quarter ended February 28, with sales of $345 million, up 24 percent or $67 million from last year, though still behind the $373 million recorded two years ago. The recovery was driven predominantly by their book fairs, with sales back up to $76 million, versus just $27 million last year, and $100 million in 2020. They held approximately 70 percent of the pre-pandemic number of fairs. The seasonal operating loss excluding one-time items was $(16.7) million, compared to a loss of $(11.9) million a year ago, due to higher labor costs and, in […]