-
Fenn Files for Bankruptcy
H.B. Fenn and Company, Canada’s largest book distributor, today filed a Notice of Intention to Make a Proposal under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act. The company could propose a restructuring program, but the comment from founder and CEO Harold Fenn in a brief statement issued by the company this afternoon was sombre.
-
Earnings Fall at HarperCollins
Commenting on its second quarter results for the period ended December 31, News Corp. said operating income at its HarperCollins subsidiary fell. News Corp. now reports HC as part of a much larger publishing segment and no figures for HC were available. In its 10-Q filing, News reported that second quarter sales at HC also declined due to fewer new titles and "lower licensing fees resulting from a settlement received at HarperCollins in the corresponding prior year periods."
-
McGraw-Hill Education Posts Big Earnings Gain on Small Sales Increase
Despite a soft fourth quarter, McGraw-Hill Education reported strong gains in earnings in 2010 on a modest sales increase. Total revenue in the year rose 1.9%, to $2.4 billion, while operating income jumped 31.7%, to $363.4 million.
-
Courier Unfazed by Slow Start
Sales and earnings were off in the first quarter ended December 25 at Courier Corp., but the company said that it expected to still hit its financial targets for fiscal 2011 and even raised its earnings per share forecast. Courier attributed the shortfall primarily to timing of manufacturing orders in the religion market. Sales at REA also fell significantly due to a strong first quarter last year. Overall, sales fell 3%, to $61.2 million, and net income dropped to $1.7 million from $2.8 million.
-
Flat World Knowledge Gets $15 Million in Funding
Flat World Knowledge, the largest publisher of free and open college textbooks for students worldwide, has received $15 million in another round of funding, this one led by Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments (BDMI), a wholly owned subsidiary of Bertelsmann, and Bessemer Venture Partners, a global investment firm. Also joining the round are returning investors Valhalla Partners, GSA Venture Partners (formerly Greenhill SAVP), High Peaks Venture Partners, and several angel investors.
-
Bowker to Collect Data for AAP and BISG
The Association of American Publishers and the Book Industry Study Group, which embarked on a joint venture in May 2010 to develop a new industry statistics model, have announced they have retained the services of Bowker as the venture's data collection provider. Industry stats veteran Kelly Gallagher, v-p, publisher services, will work closely with the BookStats Steering committee.
-
AAP November Sales Report
Based on reports from the 88 companies that are part of the Association of American Publishers' sales reporting program, it looks like the educational, professional, and digital categories will finish 2010 with gains in the year, while the print trade categories will post a decline.
-
NBN Cuts Seven in Sales Realignment
National Book Network has realigned it sales force with the aim of moving resources from bricks-and-mortar stores to special markets and digital delivery, NBN president Rich Freese said. As a result, seven position were eliminated. "We needed to realign to reflect the realities of the marketplace," Freese said. In addition, Gail Kump, head of new business development, is leaving the company.
-
Stocks Rise Again in 2010
After plunging in 2008 and skyrocketing in 2009, the Publishers Weekly Stock Index settled down in 2010, posting a solid 14.0% gain in the year, an increase that was slightly ahead of the 11.0% increase turned in by the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
-
Units Had Modest Decline in 2010
Total unit sales fell 4.5% in 2010, to 717.6 million, at the bookselling outlets tracked by Nielsen BookScan. The decline follows a 3.3% drop in 2009. While some of the decline in print sales was offset by skyrocketing e-book sales, it is unclear if e-book sales jumped enough to totally make up the 34.1 million units that were lost on the print side.
-
Tyrus, Busted Flush Merger Falls Through
Benjamin LeRoy, publisher of Tyrus Books in Madison, Wis., and McKenna Jordan, owner of Murder By The Book bookstore in Houston, Tex., announced that Busted Flush Press will not merge with Tyrus after all. Busted Flush is the publisher of out-of-print hardboiled crime novels founded in 2005 by Jordan’s husband, the late David Thompson. Thompson, the assistant manager at Murder By The Book, died unexpectedly in September, the day before a contract between him and LeRoy was to be signed. -
The 2010 Decision: Bush, Larsson Tops
Although there were still a few days left in the 2010 selling season at press time, the clear winners for the year are already in: in nonfiction the unlikely combination of George Bush, Chelsea Handler, and Elizabeth Gilbert ruled Nielsen BookScan's nonfiction list, while Stieg Larsson, in a mix of hardcover, trade paperback, and mass market paperback, took five of the top 10 fiction spots.
-
S&S Will Hit Profit, But Not Revenue, Targets
In a year-end letter to employees that dealt heavily with digital developments and their impact on the industry and Simon & Schuster, company CEO Carolyn Reidy thanked the publisher's worldwide staff for their efforts in helping the company achieve its profit targets, despite revenues falling below expectations.
-
Scholastic Sales Up, But Not Enough
Despite higher sales and earnings, second quarter results for the period ended November 30 were below expectations at Scholastic and the publisher lowered its guidance for the full year. Scholastic chairman Dick Robinson attributed the shortfall to lower spending by school districts and lower than expected sales in its book club segment. Higher digital investments also impacted earnings.
-
AAP October Sales Report
E-book sales growth slowed in October, but still easily outdistanced the growth rates in any other subject category, according to AAP's monthly sales estimates.
-
Crunch Time For Borders
Borders release of its third-quarter results last Thursday confirmed the trend among the nation's largest bookstore chains—falling sales from bricks-and-mortar stores and less space devoted to books.
-
Borders Sales Disappoint, Loss Soars; Liquidity Issues Arise
Borders third quarter results, released just after the market closed Thursday afternoon, provided little sign that the company is turning around as total revenue fell 17.6%, to $470.9 million and comparable store sales dropped 12.6%.
-
Mixed Second Quarter for Wiley
Second quarter revenue at John Wiley for the period ended October 31 fell 1%, to $442 million, although net income increased 16%, to $53.6 million. Excluding the impact of foreign exchange, revenue was up 1%. Revenue was up in Wiley’s Higher Education segment, but down in the Professional/Trade and Scientific/Technical/Medical/Scholarly categories.
-
E-Book Growth Slows, Still Up 112% in October
Facing some harder comparisons, e-book sales posted their slowest growth rates in 2010 in October. Still, sales jumped 112.4%, to $40.7 million, from the 14 publishers who reported results to the AAP's monthly sales program.
-
Industry Stocks: November Performances
Following several months of gains, both the Publishers Weekly Stock Index and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell back slightly in November (although the Dow recovered all of its November losses on the first day of trading in December, rising 249 points).
Browse archive by date:
