Finance

Sales at the retailer fell again in the third quarter, down 5.3%. The slide prompted the creation of a four-pronged strategic plan that will require, as CEO Demos Parneros put it, "a significant multi-year transformation."

An 11.4% increase in revenue in the HMH trade division in 2017 over 2016 plus cost cuts resulted in net income of $2.0 million in the group last year compared to a loss of $7.0 million in 2016.

Fourth quarter sales rose 12% at S&S while earnings jumped 22%. These gains helped the publisher to an 8% sales gain for the full year, with earnings up 11% over 2016.

Revenue at Lagardère Publishing increased 1.1% in 2017, over 2016, rising to €2.29 billion. Its Hachette Book Group subsidiary had "good net revenue growth" over 2016, HBG CEO Michael Pietsch said.

Sales of adult trade books inched up 0.4% in the first nine months of 2017, over the same period in 2016, according to estimated released by the AAP’s StatShot program. Sales in the children’s/young adult segment fell 3.5% in the nine-month period compared to 2016.

The positive impact of currency fluctuations, plus higher backlist sales in its children's division, led to a 1% revenue rise at HarperCollins this past quarter.

The Publishers Weekly Stock Index dipped 1.5% in January, substantially underperforming compared to the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which rose 5.8%.

Amazon's revenue in 2017 jumped 31% over 2016, but operating income fell 2%. The company sees more huge sales gains in the first quarter of 2018, but no earnings increase.

IDW Media reported that sales in its publishing group fell 12.1% in fiscal 2017 compared to fiscal 2016, but that it expects improved results in the current year.

Members of the Federation of European Publishers sold $28 billion worth of books in 2016, the same as 2015, signaling that the industry has finally stabilized following the uncertainty of the 2008 financial crash.