Overcoming a slow start to the year, in which sales and earnings were flat in the first quarter, HarperCollins reported that sales for the fiscal year ended June 30 rose 9.8%, to $1.28 billion, while operating income increased 18.8%, to $158 million. The sharp increase in earnings bumped operating margins up to 12.4%, which HC CEO Jane Friedman pointed to with particular pride. The margin improvement "is what I'm happiest about for the year," Friedman said.
Results in North America were driven by Zondervan, which had another exceptional year, led by The Purpose-Driven Life, which has sold 17 million English-language copies since its release in October 2002. In addition, the Spanish-language edition has sold 700,000 units in North America.
Sales at both HC's general books and children's book groups were roughly flat in the year, while profits increased, Friedman said. Sales in general books were hurt by higher-than-expected returns.
Margins, however, were helped by strong backlist sales, which benefited from nearly one million copies sold of the Oprah pick One Hundred Years of Solitude, and continuing strong sales of the business title Good to Great, which has sold about 1.7 million copies. HC's Perennial Classics line had a good year, Friedman said, and the company created two "backlist specialist" positions to "help us in our search for as many backlist sales as possible."
Among the frontlist breakouts were The Proper Care & Feeding of Husbands, which now has more than 930,000 copies in print, and Deliver Us from Evil, with more than 650,000 copies in print. New books that did better than expected included Founding Mothers and Tour of Duty. In addition, Friedman said, HC's Spanish-language line, Rayo, had a stellar fiscal 2004. "Rayo proved itself last year," Friedman said, noting that she has "big plans" for Spanish-language publishing in the current year.
Friedman said she is "excited" about prospects for fiscal 2005. Both the general books group and the children's group are off to a solid start, she said. Dr. Laura Schlessinger's Women Power has done well, giving a lift to her Proper Care, while American Soldier by Gen. Tommy Franks has become an immediate bestseller. Upcoming fiction titles that Friedman is counting on include new novels by Janet Evanovich, Tony Hillerman and Michael Crichton. Jack Welch's newest business book should be released in April, Friedman said. As for Publishing+, it is a program geared to have HC "think outside the box," and Friedman said evidence of the initiative will begin to be seen this fall.
