If its lenders approve its turnaround plan, and its filings show that the vast majority do, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt will file for an initial public offering sometime after January 1, 2013, and preferably before next October, according to one of the many documents filed Monday in association with the publisher’s Chapter 11 filing.
The documents don’t detail how HMH intends to stop the sales slide, but do project that by 2017 revenue will hit $1.68 billion with EBITDA of $441 million and net income of $129 million. In the first quarter of 2012, sales were $165.2 million and HMH had a net loss of $225 million (with no writedowns). For the current year, HMH estimates sales for first six months will be $509 million with EBITDA of $36 million; for the full year, HMH expects sales to be $1.431 billion and EBITDA of $330 million. According to the documents, the revenue projections are based on management’s view of HMH’s market position, “product strategies, specific adoption schedules and overall economic outlook.”
