Finance

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…

Sales in October in the adult trade book segment rose 10.2% over 2019 at publishers that report results to AAP. Sales in the two digital formats had double digit increases in the month and, for the first 10 months of 2020, e-book sales rose 11.5% over 2019, while downloadable audio sales increased 15.8%.

A 22% decline in sales in its retail division led to a 79% drop in net income at Barnes & Noble Education in the second quarter ended October 31, 2020, compared to last year. Textbook sales fell and general merchandise revenue took a big hit.

Citing “record research output and content consumption, robust online enrollment growth, and broad digital courseware adoption,” net income at John Wiley jumped 53.5% in the second quarter of fiscal 2021 on a 5.3% increase in revenue.

The easing of lockdowns and strong increases in digital sales led to double-digit sales gains for four trade publishers that reported financial results for the quarter ended September 30 over the same period in 2019.

With sales of both print and digital books rising in the third quarter, revenue at Simon & Schuster increased 28.5% over the quarter ended September 30, 2109, and profits were up 5.5%.

A 20% increase in digital revenue and a 38% jump in direct-to-consumer sales over last year’s first quarter of fiscal 2021 helped to drive up profits by 45% and sales by 13% at HarperCollins.

Led by the megabestseller 'Midnight Sun' and 'The Return,' sales at Hachette Book Group jumped 19.2% in the quarter ended September 30, 2020, over the comparable period in 2019. Digital sales also had solid gains in the period.

In an attempt to become a "pure-play learning technology company," HMH is looking to sell its trade group, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books & Media. Group president Ellen Archer has left the company.

Sales of adult trade books rose 8.9% through the first nine months of 2020 over the comparable period in 2019, and sales in the children/young adult segment increased 7.7% for publishers that report sales to AAP’s StatShot program.