Finance
Revenue at Hachette Book Group rose 5.4% in the first quarter ended March 31, 2018, over the comparable period last year, parent company Lagardère reported. Total sales for the Lagardère publishing group increased 0.4%, to 442 million euros.
First quarter revenue fell 7.6% in Salem Media Group's publishing division which it attributed to a slowdown in author acquisitions in its self-publishing business.
Strong backlist and digital audio sales led to a 6% increase in revenue in the quarter ended March 30, 2018 over the comparable period a year ago at HarperCollins and earnings rose 16%.
Revenue from the more than 1,200 publishers who report sales to the AAP increased 0.4% in 2017 over 2016, rising from $14.65 billion in 2016 to $14.70 billion last year.
In its first quarterly filing since it went public earlier this year, the Hudson Group, parent company of Hudson Booksellers, said revenue rose 9.2% in the first quarter ended March 31.
HMH attributed the sales rise in the first quarter of 2018 in part to higher print titles sales, but a change in the product mix of sales—last year HMH sold lots of 'The Handmaid's Tale' and '1984' e-books—contributed to a slight rise in the quarterly net loss.
Although the stock market went through some wild gyrations in April, the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished the month only 2.5% higher than the start of April.
A 43% increase in digital audio sales in the first quarter of 2018 helped lift earnings 7% at Simon & Schuster over the first period in 2017.
Even with sales in its online store rising only 18% in the first quarter of 2018 over the comparable period in 2017, total revenue at the company jumped 43% and earnings soared 92%.
Sales in the adult trade segment fell 2.2% in November 2017 compared to a year ago, but were still up 2.9% in the first 11 months of the year. Children's/YA sales were down 8.2% in November and fell 3.0% for the first 11 months of the year.