Intervisual Books Inc. had a net loss of $2.7 million in 2000 on sales of $19.4 million compared to a loss of $974,000 on revenues of $18.3 million in 1999. Earlier this month, Intervisual had warned investors that it was expecting its loss this year to be higher than in 1999 (News, Apr. 9). The bad news about 2000 was somewhat offset by the announcement that Intervisual is producing two interactive books based on the Harry Potter series for Scholastic. IBI will deliver the books in July for distribution by Scholastic prior to the release of the first Potter movie in November.
The Potter project will give a boost to Intervisual's sagging packaging department, experiencing weak sales due to lower orders from both domestic and international clients. This decline was somewhat offset last year by the tripling of sales from Intervisual's self-publishing program, to $4.4 million. President Norm Sheinman said he believes Intervisual is "nearing the end of our transformation from being solely a packager to a diversified firm with multiple sources of income."
