Publishers

After first surprising markets by reducing their sales and profit expectations last October, on Thursday morning Pearson ceo John Fallon admitted “that the cyclical and policy related challenges in our biggest markets have been more pronounced and persisted for longer than anticipated.” Another round of restructuring and reorganization is expected to eliminate 4,000 jobs — or 10 percent of the company’s workforce — and cost “approximately £320 million” in one-time charges this year. While you might expect that such dramatic moves would further sink the stock — which as we noted before fell 42 percent in 2015 and dropped again in early January […]

Scholastic reported fiscal second quarter results on Thursday, with sales falling $9.3 million to $601.8 million, and earnings from continuing operations declining to $1.85 a share, compared to $2.02 a year ago. Operating profit of $105.1 million was down 5 percent versus last year. The strong US dollar cost the company $17.2 million in negative foreign exchange impact, and based on those currency “headwinds” as well as a “now settled labor action in Ontario schools that resulted in a substantial drop in reading club and book fair revenues” during the back-to-school period, Scholastic reduced its full-year guidance. Fiscal 2016 sales are now projected to be […]

Wiley reported second quarter sales for the period ending October 31, with sales falling 5 percent to $433 million (down $44 million) on currency exchange. Adjusted operating income of $64 million was down 13 percent for the quarter, and net income was down $8 million (or 11 percent) to $45.9 million. In the professional development division, which includes their remaining trade books, revenue dropped 3 percent overall to $99.2 million. Book sales were down 6 percent, however, with print book sales of $49.2 million declining 4 percent, and digital book sales of $11.9 million were down 14 percent. For the rest of fiscal […]

Lagardere reported third quarter sales on Tuesday, with the publishing division growing 2 percent on a like-for-like basis and 7.4 percent overall — thanks to a still surging dollar and strong UK pound — at  €607 million, up  €43 million from a year ago. Foreign exchange accounted for €32 million of the gain. (Similarly, for the first nine months of the year, foreign exchange accounts for €102 million of the unit’s gains, with €21 million coming from acquisitions, primarily in the UK.) Hachette Book Group USA had another decline, down 4.2 percent in the third quarter, “mainly due to challenging comparison with brisk sales in third quarter […]

HarperCollins reported sales for their fiscal first quarter, ending September 30. Total revenues rose $3 million, or 1 percent to $406 million for the quarter, while EBITDA dropped 24 percent to $42 million (compared to $55 million a year ago). But “adjusted” revenues, setting aside the addition of Harlequin (which was acquired during the third quarter in 2014) fell by $7 million, and adjusted EBITDA declined $20 million, to $40 million. While the Harlequin acquisition has gone well for the company, the core HarperCollins sales have declined (or been flat) the last four straight quarters. And the company did get […]