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Print Stumbles Early As E-Books Skyrocket
The two reports measure different aspects of the book market and one is far more comprehensive than the other, but figures released last week by Nielsen BookScan and the Association of American Publishers showed a trade market where e-books are thriving and print books are struggling.
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February Bookstore Sales Rebound
The 4.9% decline in January bookstore sales was partially blamed on snowstorms that delayed students from buying textbooks for the spring semester. That reasoning seems to have been correct as the Census Bureau this morning reported that bookstore sales jumped 9.3% in February, to $1.11 billion. Sales include all items sold in college and trade bookstores. The rebound in February resulted in a slight two-month dip for bookstore sales, which were down 0.5%, to $3.33 billion.
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Industry Stocks: March Performances
Investors are placing more bets on Amazon and fewer on traditional retailers; that's the main takeaway from March's stock results. During the month, Amazon's share price rose 3.9%, while prices at Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million and Hastings all sank by double digits.
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Borders Paid Wholesalers $100 Million Prior to Chapter 11
A thick new document released yesterday lists every creditor to which Borders owes almost $396 million in trade payables, a second document shows how much money Borders paid publishers and other vendors within the 90 days prior to going Chapter 11. The two biggest companies to cash checks were Baker & Taylor and Ingram.
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Sales, Earnings Up at Random House
Led by a 250% increase in e-book sales, strong lists and favorable exchange rates, total revenue at Random House rose 6.1%, to 1.83 billion euros ($2.57 billion at current exchange rates), while earnings before interest, taxes and special items jumped 26.3% to 173 million euros ($243 million).
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Scholastic Reports Higher Third Quarter Loss
Lower sales of its high margin educational technology programs, higher investment in digital initiatives and school funding cuts combined to increase Scholastic's operating loss in the third quarter ended February 28 to $31.9 million from $500,000 in the comparable period in fiscal 2010.
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E-Books Poised To Overtake Mass Market Paperbacks
The Association of American Publishers’ monthly sales estimates come with a number of caveats, the most important being the limited number of companies that participate—85 in all, with participation among the segments much smaller than that. Still, they have provided a useful tool in gauging how e-book sales and print sales are faring among the major trade houses (the big six all report).
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January E-book Sales Soar, Top Hardcover, Mass Market Paperback
The surge of e-book buying expected to take place in January following a round of holiday e-reader gift-giving did in fact materialize. According to preliminary estimates from the Association of American Publishers, e-book sales from 16 reporting companies jumped 115.8%, to $69.9 million in January. No other trade segment posted a sales increase in the month. Sales of mass market paperbacks were terrible in January, down 30.9% from the nine reporting companies, falling to $39.0 million, $30 million below the sales of e-books. E-book sales also topped $49.1 million in adult hardcover sales reported by 17 publishers.
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Borders Creditors Committee Questions Financing, Calls for Exit Strategy
As the March 15 hearing on final approval for Borders's post-petition financing nears, the Creditors Committee is raising a host of objections to approving the DIP (debtor-in-possession) motion without modification. In a filing Thursday afternoon, the committee termed many of the the provisions "unreasonable, overreaching and otherwise inappropriate."
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Profits Fall at Hachette
Hachette Book Group USA parent company Lagardere released more detailed financial results yesterday, showing a 16.8% decline in earnings before interest and taxes to 250 million euros for the Lagardere Publishing Group in 2010. Earlier, the company reported that sales dropped 4.8% to 2.16 billion euros. The decline in profits, like the drop in earnings, was due to the phenomenal success of Stephenie Meyer in 2009; without the unprecedented sales from Meyer (45 million copies vs. 11 million), revenues were down in the U.S. and U.K.
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Borders Meets with Publishers Over Terms; Conference Call Set
Ahead of a conference call set for Friday afternoon to give vendors an update on its business plan and restructuring, Borders merchandise executives have been in New York this week negotiating with publishers to resume direct shipments to the embattled chain.
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Sales, Earnings Up at Wiley
Total revenue at John Wiley & Sons rose 5% in the third quarter ended January 31, rising to $447.9 million, while operating income increased 2%, to $69.6 million. Excluding the negative impact of foreign currency exchange, sales rose 7%.
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2010 Publisher Scorecard
A look at how three big publishers did in 2010 vs. 2009.
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Industry Stocks: February Performances
With winners outnumbering losers by an 11 to 4 count, the Publishers Weekly Stock Index rose 3.2% in February, slightly beating the Dow Jones Industrial Average's 2.7% increase.
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Digital Up, Print Down at Harlequin
Revenue at Harlequin fell 5.3% in 2010, to C$468.2 million ($482 million), while operating profit held relatively even, slipping to C$83.4 million ($85.4 million) from C$83.8 million in 2009. The decline was due mainly to currency fluctuations, parent company Torstar said.
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Penguin Earnings Rise 26% on 6% Sales Gain
Led by solid gains in its two biggest markets--the U.S. and U.K.--Penguin Group reported total revenue of 1.05 billion pounds ($1.71 billion) in 2010, a 6% sales increase with operating profits up 26% to 106 million pounds ($172 million).
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Quarto Posts Gains in Sales, Earnings
Total revenue at Quarto rose 7% in 2010, to 113.8 million euros ($155 million) and operating profit increased 17%, to 8.2 million euros. The U.K.-based publisher and packager that does business on a global basis said currency fluctuations had little impact on results this year. It also took an undisclosed provision for the Borders bankruptcy.
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Simon & Schuster Posted Earnings Gain Despite Sales Dip
Simon & Schuster ended 2010 on a positive note with sales increasing 5%, to $231.7 million, and adjusted operating income before depreciation and amortization (OIBDA) rising 32% to $20.1 million. The strong finish helped S&S to overcome a slow start, finishing the year with sales of $790.8 million, slightly down from $793.5 million in 2009. Adjusted OIBDA rose 33%, to $71.8 million and operating income increased to $60.9 million from $42.5 million.
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E-book Sales Up 164% as Other Trade Segments Fall
E-book sales jumped 164.4% in 2010, to $441.3 million, at the 14 publishers who report sales to the Association of American Publishers monthly sales program. Sales in December rose almost exactly the same amount, 164.8%, to $49.5 million. Sales in all other trade segments fell in the year with the exception of downloadable audio which had a 38.8% gain to $81.9 million.
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Macmillan Owed C$10 Million from Fenn
H.B. Fenn's filing for bankruptcy left a number of American publishers with significant sums outstanding as part of the C$21.8 million the Canadian distributor owes to unsecured creditors. When looking at American houses, Fenn owes the most amount of money to Macmillan, at nearly C$10 million, with HarperCollins also hit hard, owed roughly C$3.3 million. And Hachette, one of Fenn’s secured creditors, is owed C$2.6 million. Here are some of the other U.S. publishers owed significant sums by the Canadian company:
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