Quercus said in an interim trading update that “sales in the final quarter were lower than expected” and the company now expects “a significant trading loss for the financial year.” The news was a particular surprise since their half-year results reported in September showed a profit of £0.52 million and the company said “we have one of our strongest-ever publishing programs in the second half of this year.” As a result, the publisher’s shares have fallen by almost 50 percent, down 25 pence to 28.5 pence a share. Quercus said it “is in constructive discussions, which are on-going, with its […]
Publishers
Corporate: Bloomsbury Finishes Well; Russian Publishers Merge
Bloomsbury issued a brief trading update on sales for the last four months of 2013. “In line with expectations,” sales rose 20 percent compared to a year ago, with “most of the growth generated from print sales.” Their sales had been up 13 percent for the first half of the year, helped by both trade hits and their continuing string of academic and professional publishing acquisitions. Separately, Russia’s two biggest trade publishers have completed the merger they began some time ago, with Eksmo finalizing their purchase of AST. The purchase price was not disclosed. Publishing Perspectives reports that Eksmo owner Oleg Novikov […]
Sales Rise At Scholastic, But Earnings Fall On Two Charges
Sales inched up at Scholastic in their fiscal second quarter, ending November 30, rising $9.7 million to $623 million. But operating income of $94.7 million was down 7 percent as the company wrote down $13.4 million on “legacy acquisitions” in the children’s publishing and distribution segment and took a $5.5 million one-time charge for “cost reduction and restructuring programs” as well. At the same time, Scholastic said it will exercise an option to purchase their headquarters building in Soho for $255 million before the end of the year. They say it “should provide a number of benefits, including enhanced free […]
Realigned Wiley Grows
Wiley reported second quarter 2014 results of $449 million, up 8 percent on an “adjusted” basis. Net income increased 9 percent to $49.9 million (or 84 cents a share). Overall digital book revenue increased 40 percent compared to last year, to $31.4 million. The professional development segment, where Wiley’s remaining trade book lines resides, grew 7 percent for the quarter on an adjusted basis to $92.5 million, driven by digital books and online training and assessment. Wiley also recorded another $15.3 million in restructuring charges as part of its previously announced realignment — $2.1 million of which applied to the […]
Barnes & Noble Sells Less of Everything — But Shows Surprise Profit
Barnes & Noble reported weak sales across all of their divisions for the company’s fiscal second quarter (ending October 26), but a slightly smaller Nook loss and some of the fee concessions they’ve won from publishers for the retail stores allowed the company to produce something strange: actual net income. Sales for the quarter were $1.73 billion, down 8 percent or $150 million from a year ago, but EBITDA of $75.7 million was $9.1 million higher than 2012 and net income of $13 million, or 15 cents a share, was much improved and well ahead of expectations. (The loss for the […]
Earnings Reports: Hastings, Courier, and Osprey
Hastings reported third quarter sales of $94.7 million, down 6.6 percent, with 10 fewer superstores than the same period a year ago. Book sales declined 11.7 percent in the quarter, which the company blamed on “a weaker release schedule for new books and a decrease in trade paperback sales,” particularly given the effect of Fifty Shades a year ago as well as (when sales were only 1.4 percent in the same quarter). Books are down 11.8 percent for the year so far as well. At Courier Corporation, fourth-quarter sales rose 9 percent to $84 million and net income rose as […]