Despite Pearson’s recent string of disappointing results, which have wiped out half of the company’s market value over the past two and half years, their official releases maintain an orderly calm, using various comparison stats to make their world seem stable. The newest trading update fits squarely in that genre; they expect that full-year earnings will be at the higher end of their very modest guidance — if only the dollar had not dropped in value against the pound, so actual profit is below that guidance (but it’s not their fault). And while they are “expecting growth” in 2018, given […]
Publishers
Scholastic Slides On Potter Comp
Scholastic reported fiscal second quarter results on Thursday morning, with sales of $598 million down $25 million (or 4 percent) from a year ago. Operating profit from continuing operations was $107 million, down $5 million, and net income fell further, at $57.1 million, compared to $67.9 million a year ago. Results were below analysts’ expectation. Trade publishing sales were $80.9 million, down $17.6 million from a year ago — when the company benefited from Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them screenplay. Nonetheless, Scholastic said trade sales had “exceeded expectations with exceptionally strong performance […]
Wiley Gains on Better Than Expected Results
Wiley reported higher sales and better earnings than analysts were expecting for their fiscal second quarter and the stock gained almost five percent in trading on the news Thursday, coming close to the all-time high from early 2015. Sales were up 6 percent to $452 million, and adjusted net income of $59.3 million was up from $5.1 million a year ago. In a break with recent trends, STM publishing of $71.5 million was up $3.5 million, and education publishing of $57.7 million was just above flat. That included 5 percent growth in digital and “lower than expected declines in print.” At the same […]
Small Gains for Harper
News Corp. reported fiscal first quarter results through the end of September, with sales at HarperCollins rebounding by 3 percent, to $401 million. While ahead of last year’s $389 million, it’s still behind their $409 million in fiscal 2016 and $406 million in fiscal 2015. EBITDA rose by $2 million, to $50 million in the quarter. The gains were “primarily due to the continued popularity of Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance and The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson.” Digital sales grew 6 percent, driven “by growth in downloadable audio sales.” Report
Earnings: Lagardere Declines, Quarto Warns on Loss and No Dividend
Lagardere reported third quarter sales, with publishing division revenues falling 4.3 percent to €646 million (down from €675 million a year ago). Underlying sales fell more, since that total includes €11 million from recent acquisitions. (Brainbow and Bookouture each contributed €5 million, and IsCool Entertainment added €1 million.) This year’s results were weighed down comparatively by last year’s release of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by Hachette UK, and that division was down 13.5 percent as a result. US sales were down 2.8 percent, on “a lighter release schedule.” But the big French division rose 6 percent, mostly on improved educational sales. Foreign […]
Simon & Schuster Gains On Audio and International Sales
CBS reported third quarter earnings on Thursday afternoon, with sales at Simon & Schuster nudging up by $2 million to $228 million, with operating income also up $2 million to $46 million. That means that without the incorporation of Adams Media, acquired towards the end of last year, comparable results were down slightly, even with big new releases from Hillary Clinton, Tom Brady, Nelson DeMille and more. But S&S had published Bruce Springsteen and Amy Schumer in the third quarter of 2016, setting a high bar for comparisons. CEO Carolyn Reidy says they “managed to recreate” that same frontlist momentum […]