Finance

Restructuring, Covid-19 Leads to Huge HMH Loss
February 24, 2021 at 11:00 pm

Restructuring charges and the global pandemic took a toll on Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in 2020, as the company reported a 25.8% decline in revenue in the year and a net loss of $480 million, compared to a loss of $213.8 million in 2019. HMH's trade division, which is for sale, had a 6% sales gain.

Revenue at Reed Exhibitions Sank 71% Last Year
February 10, 2021 at 11:00 pm

The company behind the London Book Fair, the “retired” BookExpo, and other publishing-adjacent events saw revenue plunge by 71% in 2020 compared to 2019. Reed said that, due to the pandemic, it is managing its 2021 event schedule “flexibly.”

HarperCollins Has Historic Quarter
February 3, 2021 at 11:00 pm

In the quarter ended December 31, sales rose 23% at HarperCollins over the comparable period a year ago, and earnings soared 65%. Susan Panuccio, CFO of HC parent company News Corp, said the second period results marked the best quarterly performance in HC's history.

Trade Publishing Sales Had Big November
January 25, 2021

Helped by the November release of the blockbuster 'A Promised Land,' sales of adult trade titles jumped 35.4% in November over a year ago and sales in the children/young adult category rose 30.7%.

Foundry Literary's Cofounder Files Suit Against Former Partner
January 19, 2021

Peter McGuigan, the cofounder of Foundry Literary + Media, filed a lawsuit against his former business partner, Yfat Reiss Gendell, on Friday. The suit claims that Gendell made illegal withdrawals of more than $860,000 from the former partners' literary agency.

Sales, Earnings Soared at EDC in Q3
January 14, 2021

Revenue in Educational Development Corp.'s direct sales division jumped 68.4% in the third quarter ended November 30, 2020, leading to a 63.5% increase in total sales for the publisher. Net income rose 63.5% over last year's third quarter.

Authors Seek Missing Payments from Shuttered Literary Agency
January 7, 2021

When the former cofounders of Foundry Literary + Media parted ways in September to launch their own literary agencies, the partners confirmed that thousands of contracts would still be handled by Foundry. It appears that payments to some authors with contracts residing at Foundry have not been going out.

Industry Stock Prices Fell 4% in 2020
January 5, 2021

A second-half rally helped to limit the decline of the Publishers Weekly Stock Index to 4% in 2020, as four of the seven companies on the PWSI managed to post an increase in their stock prices compared to the beginning of the year.

Book Fair Sales Plunge at Scholastic
December 18, 2020

Revenue at Scholastic's book fairs dropped 79% and total revenue at Scholastic dropped 32% in the quarter ended November 31, 2020, compared to the second quarter of fiscal 2020, as the pandemic led to a significant decline in the number of fairs held. The publisher has tapped two new leaders for its international and educational…