Bridget Monroe Itkin has been promoted to senior editor at Artisan Books. Wah-Ming Chang has been promoted to vice president of company culture and senior managing editor, books at Catapult/Counterpoint/Soft Skull. In the UK, Lucy Hale has been hired for the new role of publisher for Pan, reporting to Jeremy Trevathan. She had been deputy ceo of Hodder & Stoughton, Headline, Quercus and John Murray until last October, when her position was eliminated. Before working for Hachette UK, Hale had been at Pan Macmillan as UK sales director and international sales director. Audio New publisher Levine Querido has an exclusive […]
Publishers
China Literature Says “Lack of Resilience” Led to Big Operating Loss
Online literature and entertainment platform China Literature announced results for the six months ended June 30, with sales of RMB3.26 billion ($460.5 million), up from RMB2.97 billion in the first six months of 2019. Most significantly, however, the company recorded a major operating loss of RMB3.56 billion ($502.2 million), compared to earnings of RMB527.7 million last year — mostly due to the devastating impact of the pandemic on film and TV production and consumption. Company ceo Cheng Wu said, “The sudden outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and a complex and changing macro-environment had a negative impact on our business. The […]
Storytel Continues Strong Growth in Second Quarter
Swedish ebook and audio streaming platform Storytel reported earnings for the second quarter ending June 30, with net sales of SEK554 million ($63.4 million), up from SEK402 million in Q2 2019. EBITDA was a loss of SEK(37.8) million, improved from a loss of SEK(78.6) million last year’s quarter. The average number of paying subscribers was 1,257,000, up from 887,500 last year, or 42 percent. Streaming revenue was SEK459.1 million, up from SEK 320.1 million, or 43 percent, with the company forecasting 32 percent growth for the year as a whole. Print revenue — from Storytel-owned publishing houses Norstedts, People’s Press […]
Harper Sees Profits Rise On Small Sales Decline, But Finishes Behind Previous Year
HarperCollins’ parent company News Corp. reported fiscal fourth quarter earnings on the Thursday. The publisher saw sales decline only 3 percent, down by $12 million to $407 million. As with Simon & Schuster’s report in the morning, Harper increased earnings even as sales fell, with EBITDA of $47 million, compared to $43 million a year ago. The company said the earnings rise was “primarily due to cost savings and the mix of titles.” Sales were supported by “a great performance from our children’s division,” with books for children in high demand during the lockdown. Digital sales rose 26 percent in […]
Simon & Schuster Profits Rose, As Sales Fell 8 Percent
ViacomCBS reported second quarter earnings on Thursday morning, with publisher Simon & Schuster recording sales of $200 million for the period, down 8 percent from $218 million a year ago. But expenses were also lower so profits (OIBDA) rose, to $38 million, up from $35 million a year ago. The company said the 8 percent decline in the topline was “primarily driven by lower print book sales as a result of the impact of COVID-19, partially offset by growth in sales of electronic and digital audiobooks.” (That’s roughly in line with the 10 percent decline in the quarter reported this […]
HMH Sales Fell 35 Percent In Q2, with Trade Declining 10 Percent
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt reported earnings for the second quarter ending June 30. At HMH Books & Media, net sales were $35.2 million, down from $39.1 million. The 10 percent decline was “primarily due to lower net sales of both adult and young reader’s categories due to the closure of bookstores during the COVID-19 crisis and the corresponding delay in releases of new frontlist titles.” The net loss of $(1.8) million was an improvement from the loss of $(5.4) million last year’s Q2, largely due to improved margins and decreased selling and administration expense, thanks to “lower discretionary spending and labor […]