Markus Dohle Letter to Penguin Random House Staff

Dear Penguin Random House Colleagues:

Since July 1, I have had the privilege to meet with more than eight thousand of our colleagues around the world, getting to know the heart of our new company: you. Each of our Penguin Random House companies faces distinct opportunities and challenges, but the way all of you approach your work is the same: with a commitment fueled by a genuine love for what you do. In my conversations at every location-from Kirkwood to Frating, Toronto to New Delhi-the depth of dedication you have shown for our books and for our company has been truly inspiring. We are united by a greater purpose: the societal impact we as a team make every day by putting the very best books in the hands of readers around the world.

As we complete our first two months together as Penguin Random House, we are building upon our excellent performances as separate companies pre-merger. Last month, Pearson presented Penguin's strong start to 2013 in its half-year earnings report. Today, Bertelsmann announced its fiscal results for the first six months of the year, with Random House once again delivering an outstanding performance. (http://www.bertelsmann.de/bertelsmann_corp/wms41/bm/file_uploads/HJ_engl.pdf)

As a result of successful publishing from every division, Random House set an all-time record for its half-year operating EBIT and profitability at midyear. Among the highlights: INFERNO by Dan Brown sold more than four million copies in its first six weeks throughout Random House's English-language territories. Sheryl Sandberg's LEAN IN and WONDER by R. J. Palacio sold hundreds of thousands of copies in North America and the UK, while helping set social agendas and spurring cultural dialogues. The FIFTY SHADES trilogy by E L James added another five million print and eBooks to its megamillion-copy English-, German-, and Spanish-language Random House sales to date. Verlagsgruppe Random House has a two-million-copy bestseller with DER HUNDERTJAHRIGE by Jonas Jonasson, and Random House Mondadori led the Spanish bestseller lists this spring with Ildefonso Falcones's LA REINA DESCALZA.