Grand Central publisher Jamie Raab has been promoted to president (from executive vice president). CEO David Young wrote to staff: “In Jamie’s two and a half decades with the company, she and her team have created a diverse publishing program that spans just about every genre – commercial fiction and literary novels, celebrity bios and serious politics, business, romance, humor, and lifestyle – putting real muscle behind the campaigns and making GCP a fixture on bestseller lists.” He added, “Jamie is a brave and brilliant publisher, a trusted leader in the company, and an impassioned champion of authors. Here superb […]
Publishers
HarperCollins Financials Revealed As Part of News Corp Spinoff Procedure
With News Corp.’s proposed spinoff of its publishing unit, aka New News Corp (the other division will be renamed Fox Group) moving forward, the company filed proxy documents with the SEC late Thursday outlining the scope of the proposed spinoff and revealing financial performance data for HarperCollins, after holding back on numbers ever since the close of fiscal 201o. For the most recent quarter, which ended September 30 (their fiscal first quarter), Harper reported sales of $352 million, up 17 percent from $301 million in 2011–largely because of the acqusition of Thomas Nelson in July, at the beginning of the […]
Scholastic Sales and Profits Fall, As Forecasted
Scholastic reported results for the second quarter ending November 30, and as the company warned a month ago, overall sales fell 10 percent to $616.2 million, and profits declined further. The company reported a net profit of $61.8 million (or $1.89 a share) as compared to $82.8 million (or $2.62 a share) a year ago, in part because of declining Hunger Games trilogy sales as well as declining book club revenues and lower sales of higher margin educational technology products. Revenue in the children’s book publishing and distribution division was also down almost 11 percent to $350.1 million, and trade […]
Wiley Takes Writedown On Weak Interest In Trade Assets; Reduces Earnings Guidance
Wiley’s second quarter earnings report comes clean about the weakness of the trade publishing assets they have been trying to sell. The second deal–in which Houghton Mifflin Harcourt bought their culinary line and the CliffsNotes and Webster’s New World Dictionary businesses–yielded just $11 million. Wiley has taken a writedown of “approximately $16 million,” reflecting a reduced value for both the assets bought by HMH as well as the “realizable value” of the grab-bag of other trade books still up for sale, which includes titles on pets, crafts, nautical and general interest. That loss is balanced by a $10 million gain […]
Scholastic Cuts Profit Forecast Sharply, Citing Multiple Factors
After riding high on movie-driven sales of The Hunger Games, Scholastic has swung the other way, warning investors of multiple weaknesses in their business. In an announcement late Tuesday, Scholastic cited “lower curriculum product sales in its Educational Technology and Services segment,” as funds move to training in advance of the Common Core standards implementation–but also blamed on “a delay in purchasing decisions due to continued uncertainty regarding the federal budget.” Their book club business has also softened, both because of now “lower than anticipated US sales of The Hunger Games trilogy” and the impact of Hurricane Sandy. As result, […]
Books-A-Million Sales Rise Again in Third Quarter On Soft Store Comps; Courier Publishing Revenues Decline
Books-A-Million reported third quarter results Tuesday afternoon, and for the fourth straight quarter sales rose — thanks to the dozens of stores they added after Borders closed — but same-store sales continued their pattern of declines as well, down 3.6 percent. Sales of $104.7 million were up 11 percent compared to a year ago, and their net loss of $2.8 million for the quarter was an improvement from the $3.8 million in losses a year earlier. BAMM ceo and president Terence Finley said the third quarter results “reflect stabilization in our core book business and improvements in our toys & […]