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Quarto to Go Private, Delist from London Stock Market
The U.K.-based publisher said a proposed stock market delisting will save money and give it more flexibility to react to business challenges and opportunities. The U.S. is Quarto's largest market.
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Regnery Publishing Will Stay with Salem Media Group
Salem Media Group, parent company of Regnery Publishing, has been selling assets in an effort to cut its debt debt load, but a proposed sale of the publisher has been called off.
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Hachette Book Group, Hachette UK to Move Under United Management Team
Under what it calls a "new English-language management structure," Hachette Livre has named Hachette UK CEO David Shelley head of both Hachette Book Group and HUK, while current HBG CEO Michael Pietsch will retire as CEO and serve as chairman of the new group.
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Sales Remain Sluggish for Big Book Publishers
Three of the Big Five publishers struggled in the first nine months of 2023, according to recent financial results, as the industry coped with sagging sales and rising costs.
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HarperCollins Posts Big Gains in Q1 of Fiscal 2024
Revenue in the quarter ended September 30, 2023, rose 8% over fiscal 2023 at HarperCollins, and profits jumped 67%. Executives at parent company News Corp expect the publisher to show marked improvement over last year.
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S&S Results Drop in Q3, But Jon Karp Is Revved Up About the Future
After a long run of record financial results, sales at Simon & Schuster fell 13%, and operating income dropped 35.5%, in the third quarter ended September 30, 2023. Nonetheless, CEO Jonathan Karp is excited about prospects for both the holiday season and life after Paramount Global.
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Sales Rise, Profits Soar at Amazon
Total sales at Amazon increased 13%, to $143.1 billion, in the third quarter ended September 30, 2023, over the comparable period in 2022, and operating income jumped to $11.2 billion, from $2.5 billion in the third quarter 2022. Online sales rose 7%.
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Strong Trade Publishing Sales Drive Six-Month Gains at Bloomsbury
Sales were up 11% and profits increased 8% in the first half of the U.K.-based publisher's fiscal year. Sales in the U.S. were about $76 million, accounting for 46% of total revenue.
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Manga and Graphic Novels Are Keeping the Comics Biz Kicking
This year's ICv2 Insider Talks celebrated the 50th anniversary of the direct market sales channel, even as it acknowledged graphic novels—and particularly manga—as the primary driver for growth in the comics business today, and by a significant margin.
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Publishing Industry Sales Rebounded in August
Following a July slump, book sales were up 8.5% in August at the 1,233 publishers that supply data to AAP’s StatShot program.
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Hachette Book Group Reports Third Quarter Revenue Dip
CEO Michael Pietsch said the 5.2% decline was attributable to "a lighter publication schedule" compared to the same period last year and "a downward trend" in the overall publishing market.
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Lower Trade Sales, Book Club Reorg Dent Scholastic Results
Lower trade book sales and costs associated with the creation of its new School Reading Events business resulted in an operating loss in the quarter at Scholastic.
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Publishing Industry Sales Slumped in July
Book sales fell 10.9% in July at the 1,233 publishers that supply data to AAP’s StatShot program. Sales of adult books dropped 4.6%, and children's/young adult book sales declined 10.7%.
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B&NE Has a Hopeful First Quarter
Barnes & Noble Education reported a 3.7% increase in sales in the quarter ended July 29, which the company took as a sign that its new First Day programs are being embraced by more students—and the first step back toward profitability.
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Costs Cut into Profits at Big Publishers
In the first half of 2023, publishers struggled to keep expenses down, with multiple companies citing higher costs as the major reason margins shrank in the first six months of 2023.
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A Slimmer Quarto Group Sees Sales and Earnings Fall
The combination of its decision to streamline its business and softer industry sales resulted in revenue at Quarto Group falling 16% in the first half of 2023, to $52 million.
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After Six Turbulent Months, Penguin Random House Profits Increase Slightly
Despite a tumultuous first half of 2023 that included major buyouts and some layoffs, sales at Penguin Random House rose 9.5% in the first six months of 2023.
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Publishing Sales Inched Up In First Half of 2023
Double-digit sales gains in higher education course materials offset a 1% decline in sales of trade books, resulting in a 1.2% increase in sales in the first six months of 2023 at the publishers who report data to AAP.
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Murray Looks to Improve On a 'Difficult' Fiscal 2023 at HarperCollins
Sales at HarperCollins fell 10% and earnings tumbled 45% in the fiscal year ended June 30, 2023. CEO Brian Murray acknowledged that 2023 was challenging, but said most of the factors that led to the declines have eased and he expects a better fiscal 2024.
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Amazon Has Improved Second Quarter
Total Amazon sales rose 11% in the second quarter, with the company returning to profitability. Online sales lagged, increasing 4%.



