With sales in both the U.S. and U.K. showing good gains, the Quarto Group reported that revenue rose 9% in the first six months of 2022 over the comparable period in 2021, to $61.9 million, and net income jumped 124%, to $4.7 million. The company attributed the huge gain in profits to ongoing cost reduction programs.
Sales at Quarto U.S. rose 8% in the period to $34.7 million. The gain was led by Quarto’s adult imprints, particularly Chartwell, Wellfleet Press, and Rock Point, driven by strong sales of Beautiful Boards by Meagan Brown and Mind, Body, Spirit titles.
Quarto U.K. sales rose 10%, to $27.2 million. Bestsellers within the period included The Queen, a new title in 2022 in Quarto’s Little People, Big Dreams series, as well as National Parks of the USA, which was published in 2018.
In addition to releasing its first half financial results, Quarto announced that it is closing its distribution business, a move which will impact sales beginning in the second half of 2022. The company is also looking to sell its SmartLab toy imprint, home to the bestselling Squishy Human Body kit, “in order to focus on our core publishing business,” the company said.
Quarto said it expects to see “a turbulent second half of the year, with the cost-of-living crisis impacting both the U.S. and U.K. trade sales.” The company also expects a “sharper fall in online sales than expected,” due not only by the increased cost of living, but also to to shoppers increasing their spending at traditional bookstores."
