Publishers

Paramount reported second quarter earnings for the period ended June 30, with Simon & Schuster sales totaling $293 million, up 34 percent from $219 million last year. Operating income was $80 million, compared to $52 million in 2021, a 54 percent increase. According to a memo to staff from ceo Jonathan Karp, each of the company’s four divisions—adult, children’s, audio, and international—grew in the double digits. Sales of backlist titles popular on social media, predominantly “queen of TikTok” Colleen Hoover, drove results. “It Ends with Us, which we first published in 2016, was the bestselling novel in the trade paperback […]

Pearson announced results for the first half of the year, with sales of £1.79 billion, up 12 percent from the same period last year. Operating profit grew substantially from £9 million last year to £148 million (an increase from £107 million in 2020). Major restructuring costs affected last year’s profits—particularly reorganizing the business into five distinct segments—and this year’s increase is also attributed to “the net gain related to acquisitions and disposals compared to a loss in 2021.” Most business segments saw improvements in the period. Assessment & Qualifications grew 22 percent, including 45 percent growth in US Student Assessment, […]

Lagardere announced first-half and second quarter results, with publishing segment sales of €1.216 billion for the first six months, up €86 million or 7.7 percent from last year. Recurring EBIT was €81 million in the first half, down from €110 million in 2021—a record-breaking result—due to the rising costs of labor, transportation, and production. Sales in the second quarter were €662 million, an increase of 6.8 percent. In the US, like-for-like sales were down 1.9 percent compared to last year’s particularly strong first half, due to a “lighter release schedule” in 2022. But, as Hachette Book Group ceo Michael Pietsch […]

Scholastic announced fourth quarter and full-year results for 2022, for the period ended May 31, with gains that “exceeded expectations for this rebuilding year,” president and ceo Peter Warwick said on a call with investors, due to a rebound in in-person book fairs and strong results in the educational business. Q4 sales were $514 million, up 28 percent from last year and ahead of the same periods in 2018 ($496 million) and 2019 ($471 million). Operating income was $65.5 million, up significantly from $9.7 million in the same quarter last year. Earnings were $53.7 million compared to $8 million last […]

Bloomsbury released a trading update for the first four months of the fiscal year, ended June 30, ahead of its annual meeting today. Trade sales rose 26 percent over the same period last year to £49.95 million, with adult sales of £16.7 million (up 12 percent) and children’s sales of £33.3 million (up 34 percent). Company-wide, sales were up 27 percent to £80.3 million. Results were driven by a Paul Hollywood cookbook and, as always, Sarah J. Maas and Harry Potter. Given the strong start, market expectations are for full-year sales of £242.6 million and profit before taxation and highlighted […]

Wiley reported fourth quarter and fiscal year results for the period ended April 30, with fourth quarter sales of $546 million, up 2 percent from $536 million, held back by -$11 million in foreign exchange. Operating income was $58.4 million, up 14 percent from $51.2 million a year ago, and adjusted EBITDA was $110.9 million, down from $112.7 million. Academic & Professional Learning (which includes trade books) was down 7 percent as reported in the quarter, “driven by declines in education publishing and trade publishing, offsetting a continued strong recovery in corporate training.” That corporate training recovery was evident in […]