CBS reported second quarter earnings on Monday afternoon and publisher Simon & Schuster built on a good first quarter with more gains, rebounding to a more usual second quarter performance. Sales of $206 million were up $19 million from a year ago, “led by growth in print book sales and digital audio sales,” with the additional sales lifting operating income by $2 million to $28 million. (In 2014 they did $211 million in the second quarter, dropping to $199 million in 2015 and $187 million in 2016.) Results were lifted by the Adams Media acquisition, though ceo Carolyn Reidy notes […]
Publishers
Pearson Will Cut Another 3,000 Jobs; PRH Sales Down “Slightly”
Pearson announced results for the first half of the year and expanded on the details of their latest in a cycle of continuous restructuring, first announced in May. Another 3,000 employees will be eliminated over the next three years, “with a particular focus on managerial positions.” The company confirmed that it will spend £300 million of the proceeds from the sale of a portion of their stake in the Penguin Random House joint venture on a share buyback, and they set a new interim dividend of 5 pence per share (compared to 18 pence per share in 2016). Sales for the […]
Lagardere Publishing Gains on Acquisitions and UK
Lagardere reported results for the first half of the year, with Lagardere Publishing, moving up modestly on the Perseus acquisition. Sales of €1.019 billion were up €49 million compared to a year ago, with Perseus contributing an added €18 million (the acquisition closed in spring 2016) and other acquisitions added another €6 million. The highlight was Hachette UK, where sales rose 10.2 percent, helped by the summer John Grisham release and “an additional billing week in the period,” with “strong profitability gains in the UK spurred by the success of the catalogue” also driving the gain in profits. Recurring ebit was […]
Scholastic Finishes Good Year with Lower Quarter
Scholastic reported fiscal fourth quarter 2017 sales through May 31 of $499.6 million, down $14.2 million from a year ago, on lower sales in children’s publishing and distribution and international. Operating income for the quarter was $64.2 million, up $5.8 million on increased education sales and lower costs. Children’s trade sales were $43.3 million for the quarter (down $2.4 million from a year ago), though for the full year trade sales were $307.9 million on last year’s new Harry Potter books, compared to $211.7 million in fiscal 2016. The Potter gain comprised all of the year’s sales increase and then […]
Quarto Falls on Profit Warning, and China Literature Heads for IPO
Ahead of reporting results for the first half of 2017, Quarto Group warned that its earnings guidance “for 2017 and beyond has been set too high.” That’s due to both “a lower-than expected trading performance in the year to date” during “the ongoing soft retail environment” as well as an accounting adjustment from the previous year. With their publishing program weighted towards the fall, they still expect “to perform significantly better in the second half.” The wording sounds mild, but the stock market reacted strongly: Quarto’s have fallen over 25 percent since the announcement. Additionally, Brian Porritt has been appointed interim […]
Nearly Flat for the Year, Wiley’s Earnings Nudge Up As Book Sales Keep Falling
Wiley reported fiscal 2017 fourth quarter earnings for the year ending April 30 on Tuesday morning, with sales of $452 million (up $18 million from a year ago) and adjusted operating income of $61.7 million (up from $51.1 million a year ago), with earnings ahead of analysts’ expectations. For the full year, sales of $1.718.5 billion were down slightly, by $8.5 million, with adjusted operating income of $228 million, versus $217 million a year ago. Interim ceo Matthew Kissner says in the release, “We posted stronger revenue and earnings growth this quarter, largely due to growth in our Solutions business and […]