The religious segment had the best performance among the print categories in March with sales ahead 40.9%, according to estimates from the AAP. Sales in the juvenile hardcover segment were up 15.6%, while sales in mass market paperback were up 5%. Sales in the university press paperback segment took the biggest fall in March, dropping 39.8%, while sales of professional books dropped 3.6%. In higher education, returns exceeded gross sales in March, a typical pattern for the segment. Elhi sales rose 2.4% on the strength of a 7.3% increase in supplementary sales; basal sales inched up 0.1%. For the first three months of the year, the religious and adult hardcover segments had the best gains among the print categories.
% CHANGE | % CHANGE | |
Category | March | YTD |
Adult Hardcover | 4.4 | 20.2 |
Adult Paperback | -4.3 | 1.5 |
Adult Mass Market | 5.0 | -4.6 |
Juvenile Hardcover | 0.2 | 2.9 |
Juvenile Paperback | 15.6 | 15.0 |
Audio Books | 28.2 | 34.9 |
Electronic Books | 193.1 | 173.2 |
Religious Books | 40.9 | 30.2 |
Higher Education | NM | NM |
University Press Hardcover | 2.1 | -9.0 |
University Press Paperback | -39.8 | -35.6 |
Total Professional | -3.6 | -8.7 |
Elhi | 2.4 | 4.2 |
(Measured in $ sales against same time periods, 2003) |