Simon & Schuster’s remarkable streak of 19 consecutive quarters of earnings growth came to an end in the fourth quarter of 2019, reported this morning by new parent company ViacomCBS. Sales for the quarter were $215 million (down from $218 million in 2018, and $235 million in 2017), with adjusted operating income before depreciation and amortization [OIBDA] of $34 million, a sharper decline from $48 million at the end of 2018. For the full year, sales fell $9 million to $814 million, and adjusted OIBDA of $143 million was $10 million lower. (Note that this is a revised way of […]
Publishers
Storytel 2019 Earnings Reflect Continued Global Expansion
Audiobook streaming service Storytel reported 4th quarter and full-year 2019 results along with 2020 guidance on February 20, showing continued double-digit growth powered by aggressive investment in new markets. Net sales for Q4 2019 totaled 565 million SEK ($57.7 million), up from 436.6 million SEK ($44.6 million). Meanwhile, the company’s quarterly loss before tax was (104.4 million SEK/$10.7 million), compared to a (79.4 million SEK/$8.1 million) loss in Q4 2018. For the year, sales were 1.8 billion SEK ($183.7 million), up from 1.5 billion SEK ($153.1 million) in 2018. Loss before tax was (360.6 million SEK), compared to a (246.9 […]
Cengage McGraw-Hill Merger Now Expected to Close in Mid-2020
Reporting Q3 results, Cengage c.e.o. Michael Hanson said that the merger with McGraw-Hill was now expected to close in mid-2020, due to a slower-than-expected regulatory process. Previously the companies had announced an extension of their merger agreement to May, and Hansen said the agreement allowed for another extension to August 1. DOJ approval will likely require divestment of courses across the Cengage and McGraw-Hill portfolio, with an impact that Hansen said was too early to quantify. Cengage is already in talks with purchasers of perspective courses, and the rationale for the merger remains strong. “We remain confident, and are committed […]
Harper Reports Weak Holiday Quarter
News Corp. reported earnings for their fiscal second quarter, ending December 31, with Harper Collins registering its third consecutive weak quarter. Sales of $442 million were down $52 million from a year ago, falling 11 percent. EBITDA fell further, down 28 percent, to $63 million from $88 million. The company attributed the shortfalls “primarily due to the difficult comparisons to the prior year” — but it was a soft holiday compared to earlier periods, too. In 2017 sales were $469 million and EBITDA was $78 million. Digital sales increased 5 percent compared to the prior year, primarily due to a […]
Corporate: Barnes & Noble “A Big Mess”; A Big Charge At Luebbe; Booktopia Adds Funding
Barnes & Noble ceo James Daunt, speaking to inews.co.uk following the release of Waterstones’ results, declares of BN, “We had a pretty awful Christmas over here.” He adds, “But that was because there are parts that I’ve abandoned.” More broadly, he says BN is “as Waterstones was in 2011, which is: not very good bookshops, not looking very nice. It’s a big mess.” While publishers like Lagardere are investing in games, Germany’s Luebbe is taking a big charge after a misadventure there. The company said it will take an impairment loss of between 12 and 14 million euros against its […]
Pearson Preview Indicates 30 Percent Decline In Printed Textbooks, Weak Profits Ahead
Pearson released a 2019 trading update, providing a preview of what’s to come in the complete earnings results coming February 21. It’s not good. In North America, overall revenue was down 3 percent, dragged down by a 12 percent decline in the US Higher Education business. Print sales dropped an astonishing 30 percent, while digital sales showed only “modest growth.” The release notes, “This reflects rapidly changing market dynamics that are reshaping the industry, as illustrated by the fact that in 2019 we sold 3.7 million textbooks to students at US universities, compared to 7.4 million in 2016 and 21 […]