Sales Slip at Quarto

Despite a 4% decline in revenues, to £73.6 million ($111 million), the Quarto Group reported a pretax profit of £3.6 million ($5.3 million) in 2000, compared to a loss of £1.1 million in 1999, a figure that included a one-time charge from continuing operations of £5.2 million. The U.S. remains Lond0n-based Quarto's largest market, with revenues increasing 8.7%, to £39.8 million ($60 million), last year. The company attributed the revenue decline largely to the strength of the dollar and pound against the euro, which negatively impacted profits by £1.5 million and sales by £5.3 million in Quarto's international co-edition publishing division, where revenues fell 7%, to £43.5 million.

To help reach Quarto chairman Laurence Orbach's goal of a 10% operating margin, the company restructured its co-edition group last year, a move that included combining the back-office operations of its U.S. Rockport and RotoVision units (News, June 26, 2000). The company's art publishing operation, which had a disappointing 2000, also underwent realignment, with the company closing its San Diego and Sydney offices. And earlier this month Quarto said it was closing its e-commerce division, IQu-digital.

Orbach said that the current year has started ahead of budget, and he expressed an interest in expanding into the professional training and educational areas as an adjunct to the group's core activities in instructional and information publishing.

Quarto's Rockport division will enter the New Age market this spring when it launches the Fair Winds Press imprint. Headed by former Element executives Holly Schmidt and Greg Brandenburgh, the new imprint will publish 25 to 30 titles annually. To distinguish Fair Winds from other New Age publishers, Brandenburgh said he and Schmidt are looking for books that are "a little bit different, a little bit quirky." Among the imprint's first titles will be Chin Deep in Bubbles by Melissa Placzek and two books Brandenburgh and Schmidt brought from Element: The Peanut Allergy Answer Book by Michael Young and Earth Mother Magic by Judika Illes.

Fair Winds will be distributed to the trade by Tuttle Publishing, while F&W Publications will continue to distribute the rest of Rockport's line.