Financial reports from three major printers continued to show softness in the first quarter, although there were some signs of improvement.
Net sales in R.R. Donnelley's book printing division fell 5.5% in the first quarter, to $154.7 million. Strength in educational publishing helped to offset weakness in the consumer and religion segments. Executives said they were satisfied with the performance of the book group in a difficult market, noting that the printer has been able to sign multiyear contracts with several customers, a change from past practices.
Banta Corp. cited a good educational print market as the main driver in its book group in the first period. Nonetheless, sales in the printing and digital imaging segment fell 7.7%, to $236 million, in the quarter, although earnings from operations rose 7.5%.
Marc Reisch, chairman of Quebecor World North America, said sales in the group were down 9%, to $1.2 billion. He said the book unit performed well with a solid performance in the trade group and a relatively strong showing in the education group. Reisch said he remains "fairly positive" about prospects for the book group for the year.
