Finance

Sales at Hachette Book Group fell 8.6% in the first six months of 2023 compared to the first half of 2022, parent company Lagardère reported. Sales for all of Lagardère Publishing rose 2.5%, but profits dropped 16%.

In a week filled with bad book business news and a down year for the children's book market, Scholastic nonetheless delivered a generally upbeat financial report for its latest fiscal year—thanks in no small part to the company's booming book fair business.

A 14.1% decline in May in the children's/YA segment was offset by gains in sales of adult books and college course materials, leading to total sales in the month holding even with 2022.

The country's largest operator of college bookstores said that if it doesn't improve its financial position soon, it could issue a warning about its chances of staying in business.

Final industry estimates from the AAP show that sales of religious books fell 6% in 2022 from 2021, dropping to $1.27 billion last year from $1.35 billion in 2021. Digital audiobooks and hardcover sales fell 42% and 9.5%, respectively.

Publishing industry sales couldn't keep up the pace in April, with all segments of the business but higher education suffering declines in the month.

With results down in fiscal 2023, Wiley announced that it will offload non-core assets in fiscal 2024 and focus on its research and learning groups.

Total publishing industry sales rose by 6.6% in March over a year ago—enough to precipitate a 3.2% bump in sales for the first quarter of 2023.

Helped by expansion into non-consumer markets as well as overseas, sales and earnings at the U.K.-based publisher both rose 15% in fiscal 2023, with revenue in the U.S. topping $150 million.

A 16% increase in sales in the pre-K–12 educational materials segment helped to counter declines in the other major categories, resulting in total publishing sales of $28.1 billion in 2022, the Association of American Publishers reported.