Sales, Earnings Fell by Double-Digits at PRH

Sales and earnings at Penguin Random House both fell by more than 10% in the first half of 2016 compared to the same period in 2015. PRH parent company Bertelsmann reported that revenue at the trade publisher fell 10.7% in the first six months of 2016, to 1.52 billion euros, while EBITDA (earnings before taxes, interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) fell 10.6%, to 185 million euros.

Bertelsmann attributed the decline to the expected drop in ebook sales in the U.S. and U.K. due to changed retail terms, as well as the negative impact of currency exchanges. Partially offsetting those negative trends were steady physical book sales and gains in downloadable audio sales.