Quarto Group reported results for the year ending December 31, 2014, with sales up 2 percent to $172.6 million (a increase of $3.4 million) and operating profit up 10 percent to $15.4 million (an increase of $1.4 million). CEO Marcus Leaver said in the release, “In 2014, Quarto started to deliver on its potential following a year of tactical reorganization. The business has been simplified and focused and is beginning to deliver on its strategic priorities. The second half of the year was strong and this has given us momentum into 2015.” Chairman Tim Chadwick added: “We have made good […]
Publishers
Lagardere’s Profit Falls Along with Sales
Having already reported sales for 2014 a month ago, in the European style Lagardere followed up on Wednesday afternoon with a full accounting of their profits for the year as well. On those sales of €2.004 million (down 3 percent), recurring EBIT fell further, down €26 million or 12 percent to €197 million. EBIT, after non-recurring/non-operating items, declined €23 million to €169 million. Despite the weaker year, publishing still accounts for over half of parent company Lagardere’s total earnings (but 28 percent of sales). Per our previous estimates, Hachette Book Group in the US and Canada comprised 24 percent of publishing sales, […]
Wiley Grows in Q3, But Book Sales Still Decline
Wiley reported adjusted third quarter sales of $466 million, up 2 percent including foreign exchange, while adjusted operating income of $78 million was flat (with net income rising $3.5 million). The company took charges of $24 million in the quarter related to their ongoing restructuring program, of which half was due to prior restructurings of facilities and the other half due to severance costs. The company’s reduced trade book lines remain part of the “professional development” segment, where adjusted revenue 17 percent to $108.6 million, largely attributed to the recent acquisitions of CrossKnowledge (which contributed $16.2 million in revenue) and Profiles International […]
Pearson “Completed Our Intense Two Year Restructuring”; Names PRH’s Williams CFO
Pearson announced preliminary annual results Friday morning, with sales of £4.874 billion down 4 percent (but up 2 percent on a constant-exchange-rate basis) and higher operating profit of £720 million — with lower restructuring charges but a higher tax rate, leaving earnings down to 66.7 pence per share, compared to 70.1 pence per share a year ago. Those results were in line with their “trading update” from earlier this year. Chief executive John Fallon declared, “We’ve completed our intense two year restructuring and reinvestment programme and performed well competitively despite some challenging market conditions.” The company forecast improved adjusted earnings per share of […]
Trade Rebounds In Houghton’s Fourth Quarter
Helped by publication of bestselling What If, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s modest trade division saw sales rise in the fourth quarter to $48 million, up $2 million from a year ago, as the unit recorded a small net gain for the period ($500,000), compared to a small net loss a year ago. Adjusted EBITDA of $4.8 million also rose slightly, up from $4.5 million a year ago. For the full year, however, sales of $163 million were down $8 million, and the trade unit recorded a net loss of $3 million, down from net income of $6.6 million a year ago. Adjusted EBITDA of $12.7 […]
Simon & Schuster Sales Fall for Fourth Quarter and Full Year
Fourth quarter sales at Simon & Schuster fell by $10 million (or 4.5 percent) to $215 million. The second consecutive quarterly drop left the company $31 million below 2013’s sales, down 4 percent to $778 million for the year. (Though the year-to-year variance is relatively small, it is the lowest annual sales level for S&S since 2006.) Fourth quarter sales were said to be lower because of the comparison to a year ago, when Duck Dynasty tie-ins were strong, though in 2014 S&S ceo Carolyn Reidy said lower third quarter sales were due to the timing of their big releases and was expecting “a huge […]