Courier reported fiscal second quarter sales, with their publishing division declining 5 percent to $9.6 million. They had an operating loss of $1.1 million, but that’s an improvement over a loss of $2 million this time last year, when they took a $750,000 bad-debt charge due to the Borders bankruptcy. Their REA test-prep business was the only profitable unit during the quarter, even though sales fell 5 percent. And online sales helped Dover revenues increase 5 percent in the period. Creative Homeowner continues its sharp decline, with sales down 34 percent. Among new initiatives, they are planning a spring launch […]
Publishers
Random House Profit Increases as Bertelsmann Plans To Reshape Company In Next 5-10 Years
Bertelsmann released its full-year earnings statement for 2011, and for Random House the numbers correspond to the trend at other large houses: Revenue fell €79 million or 4.3 percent to €1.749 billion compared to last year, while EBIT rose 6.9 percent to €185 million, compared to €173 million the previous year. The company also recorded “record triple-digital-percentage” digital revenue growth and a “surging demand” for Random House ebooks helped by the “increasing availability of lower-priced e-reading devices and tablets” that offset declines in print sales. (2011 was also the year Random House switched to agency model pricing in the US.) […]
Connecticut Court Ruling Says Scholastic Book Clubs Liable For Sales Tax
One week after issuing third quarter results, Scholastic issued a statement saying that the company needed to revise its earnings report after they were notified that the Connecticut Supreme Court “had reversed an earlier trial court decision and found that Scholastic Book Clubs was liable for sales taxes relating to the operation of its school book clubs business in Connecticut.” The Hartford Courant reported that the unanimous ruling, issued on March 19, said Scholastic “owes $3.2 million plus interest and penalties going back to 1995 to the state,” based on the Book Clubs division having enough of a presence in […]
Hunger Games Sales Drive Big Sales Gain At Scholastic
Led by strong sales of The Hunger Games trilogy, Scholastic reported sharply higher sales for the third quarter of $467 million, up 22 percent from a year ago, and a much smaller seasonal loss of $3.2 million, or 10 cents per share, compared to 81 cents a share (or $25.1 million) a year ago. The publisher’s stock jumped over 20 percent (or more than $7 a share) in early trading on Thursday on the improved results and increased full-year guidance. If sustained, it will be the highest Scholastic’s shares have traded since 2002. Besides Hunger Games, for which “sales of […]
People: LA Office for Janklow & Nesbit, and More
Janklow & Nesbit Associates is opening their own Los Angeles office to extend their services in the film, television and digital communities. The agency says the move will allow it “to build on its existing relationships and expand its reach enormously in the service of its clients and their material.” Carlo Martinelli and Amanda Schweitzer comprise the new LA Team. Martinelli was at Vuguru, Michael Eisner’s online content company, after working for 10 years at Bona Fide Productions. Schweitzer has been at Millar Gough Ink and before that worked for Hugh Jackman’s Seed Productions. Luke Janklow says in the announcement […]
Sales and Earnings Rise At Wiley As Professional/Trade Falls
Sales at Wiley rose 1 percent to $451 million in their fiscal third quarter and adjusted earnings rose 8 percent to 91 cents a share (total earnings of $61 million rose more, due to some special tax benefits, and last year’s Borders writedown). In the professional/trade division, sales fell 6 percent to $108 million. The company blamed “the loss of comparable sales from the prior year to Borders through December, a weak global economy, and soft retail sales.” Direct contribution to profit dropped 7 percent to $28 million, “reflecting lower revenue partially mitigated by cost saving initiatives.” eBook sales almost […]