Publishers

Wiley announced fourth quarter and year-end earnings for the period ended April 30. For the fourth quarter, the company reported $526 million in sales, down 4 percent from last year, and adjusted EBITDA of $146.2 million, up from $109.6 million. For the year, sales were $2.02 billion, down 3 percent, and non-GAAP EBITDA before adjustments fell 36 percent to $284.1 million, compared to $444.6 million in 2022. Academic publishing sales were down 3 percent to $127 million for the quarter, and fell 9 percent for the year, to $482 million, with the “decline in print and ebooks more than offsetting […]

Bloomsbury released preliminary results for the year, ended Feb 28, reporting record sales and earnings. Sales of £264 million were up 15 percent from the previous year and 43 percent from two years ago. Profit before taxation and highlighted items grew 16 percent to £31.1 million. “These results demonstrate the strength of our strategy to publish for both the consumer and the academic markets, unusual in our industry, and to grow digital revenues while expanding globally,” ceo Nigel Newton said in a release. In the consumer division, sales were up 12 percent to £166.7 million with profit before taxation and […]

News Corp reported results for the third quarter ended March 31, with sales at Harper Collins flat at $515 million. Higher sales in the Christian division made up for a 2 percent negative FX impact. The company’s top titles in the quarter were The Courage to Be Free by Ron DeSantis, Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver and Never, Never by Colleen Hoover and Tarryn Fisher. EBITDA was down 9 percent to $61 million, “driven by ongoing supply chain, inventory and inflationary pressures on manufacturing, freight and distribution costs,” which contributed to a cost increase of 1 percent. The company’s press […]

Bertelsmann announced headline results for the first quarter of 2023, with sales up 5.6 percent to €4.8 billion and organic growth of 2 percent. They maintained their full-year forecast of “moderate to significant revenue growth and a stable operating result,” according to cfo Rolf Hellermann. Penguin Random House was a “main revenue driver” for the company, along with a few other divisions, with a “strong first quarter” led by Prince Harry’s SPARE, which the company says sold more than 4 million copies across formats. In a release, chair & ceo Thomas Rabe said, “We are growing significantly and will continue […]

Simon & Schuster continued its hot streak in the first quarter of 2023, reported Thursday morning by parent company Paramount Global, with sales of $258 million, up $41 million from a year ago, and operating income of $58 million, up $8 million. As ceo Jonathan Karp wrote to staff, “All of our publishing divisions increased revenue, and all of our domestic groups had double-digit growth.” International sales were “a little over flat.” In a letter to staff, Karp confirmed what we had already heard from prospective bidders, which is that, “As expected, Paramount has resumed the process of selling Simon […]

Pearson announced a brief trading update on results for the first quarter of 2023, with overall sales up 2 percent and sales excluding Online Program Management (which is up for sale) and international courseware local publishing (which is being wound down) were 6 percent. “Performance in each of Pearson’s divisions in line with or ahead of our expectations,” the company said in a release. Those expectations were low for Higher Education sales—the only actual publishing division remaining at what has become a testing, workforce skills and English language learning company: The dropped 5 percent, “including the anticipated deferral of Pearson+ sales […]