Publishers

Perseus Books Group ceo David Steinberger dispatched his annual letter to employees after the June 30 close of their fiscal year earlier than usual, noting: “In reflecting back on last year though, the real place to start is August 7th 2014, when we announced the Hachette transaction would not go forward.” Though “it was inevitably a distracting time,” Steinberger says that “our people and our company moved forward with our signature resolve,” reporting that, “In fact, this year our in-house and client publishers combined to generate higher total sales than in any year in our history.” In particular, “Our client service business […]

Quarto Group reported results for the first half of 2015, with sales increasing slightly (up 1 percent, or $0.6 million) to $66.2 million. Adjusted operating profit fell to $200,000, from $600,000 the prior year, “reflecting an expected shift in seasonality” — and Quarto records almost two-thirds of their sales in the second half of the year — with an operating loss this time around, and a loss before tax of $1.9 million. CEO Marcus Leaver said in the release he was “pleased that we have continued to make good progress in the first half of 2015. This is a solid set […]

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt reported second quarter sales on Thursday morning, with trade division sales flat at $37 million, supported by continuing strong sales from their culinary line, including the bestselling April release The Whole30. But that unit had lower EBITDA, of just $412,000, compared to $1.94 million a year ago, with a net loss of -$3.14 million, bigger than the $1.75 million loss a year ago. Companywide sales declined $22 million (or 5 percent) to $380 million “primarily due to the anticipated contraction” in the textbook adoption cycle. Sales would have $18 million lower without the contribution from their acquisition of Scholastic’s EdTech […]

CBS reported second quarter earnings on Wednesday afternoon, with publisher Simon & Schuster registering their fourth straight quarterly decline in sales — down $12 million, to $199 million — even as their earnings grew, with OIBDA of $27 million (and operating income of $25 million) compared to $24 million a year ago. As usual, CBS said “the revenue decline was more than offset by lower production and distribution costs.” Sales had jumped in this quarter a year ago, helped by Hillary Clinton’s Hard Choices and other big print sellers. Over the past 4 quarters, sales have declined by $55 million. […]