-
Print Decline Accelerated In 2011
The cannibalization of print by digital accelerated in 2011, with unit sales in the outlets tracked by Nielsen BookScan falling 8.9% with one week to go in the year. The drop in print sales was double that of 2010, when units fell 4.5%. The decline from 2010 to 2011 sped up in all major categories and formats, and the categories where digital sales are having the greatest impact on the sale of print books didn’t change—adult fiction and mass market paperback.
-
Investor Takes 6% Stake in Books-A-Million
An outside investor has acquired just over 1 million shares of Books-A-Million. The investment by Harsha Gowda, identified in his filing with the SEC as being with the Roseland, N.J.-based investment Blueshore Capital Management, gives him a 6.38% stake in the nation’s second largest bookstore chain.
-
E-book Sales Rose 81% in October
E-book sales rose 81.2% in October, to $72.8 million, at the 20 publishers who supply e-book figures to the Association of American Publishers monthly sales report. Religious sales were up in the month at reporting houses, increasing 12.4%, but sales in the other print trade segments were down.
-
Print Book Sales on the Rise Since Thanksgiving, But Trail 2010
Thanksgiving weekend may draw lots of media coverage about holiday sales, but book sales of print titles have been trending upward every week since the start of the holiday shopping season.
-
Scholastic Stays on Track for Solid Year
Net income rose 10.5%, to $82.8 million, in the second quarter ended November 30 at Scholastic on a 3% sales increase, to $685.3 million. The gain was, in part, driven by more than a 30% increase in Scholastic’s educational technology and service segment.
-
After Mixed Quarter, Wiley Lowers Revenue Forecast
Total sales inched up 1% at John Wiley in the second quarter ended October 31, to $447 million, although net income declined to $50.8 million from $53.7 million.
-
Print Units Down at Thanksgiving, But ABA Stores Post Gains
Unit sales of print books fell 22% the week of Thanksgiving at the stores tracked by Nielsen BookScan, falling from 15.4 million units in 2010 to 12.0 million this year. The ABA reported, however, that during that week unit sales from its member stores reporting to BookScan had soild gains over 2010.
-
Industry Stocks: November 2011 Performances
A huge gain on the last day of November pushed the Dow Jones Industrial Average into positive territory for the month, but that was not enough to lift the Publishers Weekly Stock Index. Even though eight of the 14 companies on the PWSI posted gains in their stock price, the PWSI could not overcome a more than 20-point decline by Amazon in the month as investors continue to fret over the e-tailer’s profit margins.
-
Print Comes Up Short
Sales of print books fell 18.6% in the first nine months of 2011 in the major trade categories, according to figures reported to the Association of American Publishers. And although e-book sales jumped in the nine months—ahead 137.9% at the 15 reporting houses—the gain was not enough to offset the declines in the print segments. As a result, combined print and e-book sales fell 5.7% in the January–September period at the companies that take part in the AAP monthly survey.
-
Mixed Signals From B&N
Barnes & Noble’s second-quarter results were full of mixed signals about how the company itself is doing as well as for the bookselling and publishing markets. During the quarter, B&N cut its net loss in half and saw EBITDA rise 21%, to $56 million. Sales, however, slipped 0.6%, with declines in its retail trade stores and college stores offsetting gains at BN.com.
-
E-book Sales Doubled in September, Mass Market Tanked
E-book sales doubled in September, to $80.3 million, at the publishers that report results to the AAP. Sales in the print segments had a mixed performance.
-
Manufacturing Up, Publishing Down at Courier
A 9% increase in sales in its book manufacturing segment in the fourth quarter ended September 24, offset a 15.1% decline in publishing sales at Courier Corp., leading to a 5% revenue gain for the quarter and big jump in earnings.
-
RH Owed More by Borders
Although the Borders estate has yet to determine how much unsecured claims will be paid on the dollar, at least one large publisher is still scrutinizing what it is owed: Random House.
-
Third Quarter Sales Down at Hachette Book Group
Third quarter sales at Lagardere Publishing fell 5.2% in the third quarter, to 601 million euros, with sales off 8% in the U.S. and 10% in the U.K.
-
Harper Paying $200 Million for Nelson
News Corp. is paying $200 million for Thomas Nelson, the parent company of HarperCollins disclosed in its quarterly filing on Friday.
-
Simon & Schuster Has Strong Third Quarter
Growth in digital sales in the third quarter was enough to offset print declines giving Simon & Schuster a 1% increase in revenue to $220 million. OBIDA (Operating Income Before Depreciation & Amortization) rose 19%, to $38 million.
-
HarperCollins Reports Rise in Quarterly Revenue, Profits
HarperCollins had a “a great quarter,” reporting an increase in revenue and profit over first quarter results last year. Some HarperCollins results were released as part of News Corps' results for the first fiscal quarter of 2012.
-
Harlequin Results Show Improvement
Results at Harlequin improved in the third quarter ended September 30 compared to a sluggish second period, but were still down compared to the third quarter of 2010. The decline was due to unfavorable foreign exchange and excluding the impact of currency translation sales and earnings were up.
-
CCC Distributed $171 Million in Royalties last Year
The Copyright Clearance Center distributed royalty payments of $171.1 million to rightsholders in fiscal year 2011, an increase of more than 10% over the previous year ($154.3 million). During the last 10 years, CCC has distributed more than $1.3 billion to rightsholders.
-
E-book Sales Rose 116% in August
E-book sales from publishers that report to the AAP rose 116.5% in August, to $88.8 million, compared to August 2010.
Browse archive by date:
