Solid Sales in February

February was a good month for most publishing segments tracked by the AAP, with sales up in 10 of the industry's 13 categories. The trade segments, facing easy comparisons with poor sales in February 2003, posted solid gains led by a 34.2% increase in the children's paperback segment. Sales in adult hardcover rose 30.2%, while sales in trade paperback increased 20.2%. Audio books did well in the month, with sales ahead 43.1%, to $11.3 million, based on reports from 10 companies. Eight publishers reported that e-book sales jumped 278.4% in the month, to $900,000. The worst-performing segment in February was college, where sales dropped 87.6%. Elhi sales posted gains for the second month in a row, led by an 11.5% increase in sales of supplementary materials. Basal sales were up 2.9%.