Simon & Schuster’s parent company CBS reported first quarter earnings on Thursday afternoon, with sales at the book publisher down $1 million, to $160 million, and operating income up $1 million, to $16 million, “reflecting lower operating expenses resulting from the revenue mix.” (CBS overall had “record first-quarter revenue” of $3.76 billion” and an “all-time quarterly high in adjusted operating income of $772 million.) Simon & Schuster ceo Carolyn Reidy said that digital audio was the standout segment of the quarter, “way up” by 43 percent, due to “some great titles” for the medium (primarily Jason Matthews’ movie tie-in Red […]
Publishers
Quarto Has Good Finish to A Hard Year
Quarto reported “poor results” for the full year of 2017, but after a very weak first half and a profit warning in November, sales for the second half of the year from continuing operations were up 5.8 percent. For the full year, continuing sales were $152.5 million, down $2.1 million, with an operating loss of $17.9 million, compared to an operating profit the previous year of $16.1 million. Their after tax loss was $18.5 million, compared to a loss of $5.3 million a year ago. The company notes that operating margin “was impacted by a combination of factors including high […]
Sales Flat At Penguin Random House
Bertelsmann reported full year 2017 results on Tuesday morning in Germany, with sales at Penguin Random House just below flat, at €3.359 billion (down €2 million from 2016). Operating EBITDA for the publisher fell 2.9 percent to €521 million (down €16 million), “particularly as a result of negative exchange rate effects.” (Per our style, from here forward, we will refer to the PRH reporting division, which includes the separate Random House Germany, as PRH+, and will use PRH for just the Penguin Random House joint venture.) At PRH on its own, sales were €3.075 billion, up €16 million from a year ago, reflecting the […]
Earnings Steady At Lagardere Publishing
After releasing 2017 sales information only in February, Lagardere followed up Thursday evening with their earnings report. The publishing division had earnings of €210 million, up €2 million from a year ago, on sales of €2.289 billion (up €25 million from 2016). The news from the release was that companywide earnings were modest, up just €8 million to €405 million, and the guidance is for “stable” (or flat) earnings in 2018. Lagardere’s shares are down over 7 percent in Friday trading as a result. Those earnings also reinforce that, while Lagardere Publishing’s margins appear lower than their trade publishing peers, the unit remains Lagardere’s […]
Wiley Gains with Publishing Steady
Wiley reported results for their fiscal third quarter, ending January 31, with sales of $456 million (up $20 million, though down 1 percent measured in constant currency), and operating income of $67.4 million (up $16.2 million). For the second quarter in a row, publishing sales were stronger than the recent downward trend: STM and professional publishing sales of $80.8 million were up from $76.9 million a year ago, and education publishing sales of $48.4 million were down slightly, versus $50.3 million a year ago. CEO Brian Napack said in the release: “We continue to see good momentum in the business, […]
Pearson to Sell Weak US K-12 Courseware, PRH Up “Slightly”
Pearson reported full-year results for 2017 on Friday morning. The most significant news was official confirmation that, as the company suggested last May, they will indeed sell off their US K-12 courseware publishing business. They are “in discussions with potential buyers regarding a disposal of the business.” That will be the last big step in the company’s strategy that if they sell enough of their disparate parts, what’s left behind will finally, a few years down the road, perform well. The new euphemism for this is “simplification,” which they say will make them a “leaner and more agile business.” At Penguin […]