Rebounding from a sluggish first quarter of fiscal 2004, HarperCollins reported that second-quarter sales for the period ended December 31 rose 4.6%, to $341 million, and operating profits jumped nearly 19%, to $57 million. For the first six months of the year, sales increased 2.2%, to $688 million, and operating profits rose 9.4%, to $116 million.
HC's North America operation "did very well" in the quarter, CEO Jane Friedman said. The division was led by its Zondervan unit, which continues to enjoy tremendous success from The Purpose-Driven Life: 12.3 million copies sold in North America to date and 15 million worldwide. A Spanish-language edition of Purpose has sold 325,000 copies in the U.S., and sales of The Purpose-Driven Life Journal has sold close to two million copies. "We're selling it [Purpose ] everywhere. It's moved well beyond just the Christian marketplace," Friedman said. A new spring campaign is expected to keep sales rolling, and Wal-Mart has said it will sell more copies of the book this year than last.
The gains at Zondervan offset slight declines at both general books and the children's groups in the quarter and first half of fiscal 2004, but Friedman was confident both segments will have a strong second half of the year. In fact, Friedman, who at one point thought fiscal '04 would be challenging, said she now expects a "dynamite year" with gains across the board. The general books group had a "huge" January and strong sales have continued into February, Friedman said. The unit has benefited from One Hundred Years of Solitude, which was the most recent Oprah pick, while The Proper Care & Feeding of Husbands now has 500,000 copies in print. HC's Atkins diet books have continued to sell well, and Friedman said she doesn't expect any negative effects from recent revelations that Dr. Atkins was overweight when he died.
Friedman did not limit her enthusiasm to just fiscal '04. She said there were a lot of "good feelings" about fiscal 2005 at a recent meeting with executives from all of HC's global units. A highlight in the U.S. will come this fall when the Lemony Snicket movie is released, which HC expects will boost sales of the popular series.
