Finance
March 3, 2015
Publishing conglomerates Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster are facing tough times this quarter as ebook sales fell and total profit dropped 5.6% at S&S and approximately 12% for RPH. The potential culprits? A lack of blockbuster books and low ebook sales. While ebooks sales are still dwarfed by paperback and hardback sales, publishers are now seeing even less revenue from their recently repriced bits. Now that many ebooks are selling well above the $9.99 price that was common early in the Kindle days.
February 13, 2015
Revenue and profits fell in 2014 at Simon & Schuster, parent company CBS reported. Sales declined 3.8%, to $778 million, while operating profit dropped 5.6%, to $101 million.
The publisher, which saw sales and earnings rise in 2013, closed 2014 on a soft note with sales down 4.4% in the fourth quarter, compared to the final period of 2013, and operating income down 30%.
S&S CEO Carolyn Reidy said 2013 had a number of positive sales surprises--including several Duck Dynasty books and The Great Gatsby--that weren't repeated in 2014.
February 6, 2015
News Corp., the newspaper publisher controlled by billionaire Rupert Murdoch, reported quarterly earnings that beat analysts' estimates amid higher book-publishing and digital real-estate sales. Profit, excluding some items, was 26 cents a share in the fiscal second quarter, compared with the 24 cents analysts estimated on average, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Revenue rose 1.9 percent to $2.28 billion, according to a statement Thursday. Analysts had projected $2.27 billion.
January 15, 2015
On the morning of day three of the Digital Book World Conference + Expo, HarperCollins president and CEO Brian Murray offered his take on the future of his company and the industry at large. Sitting down with conference chair Mike Shatzkin, Murray spoke on HarperCollins' recent acquisitions, how the company is managing change, and how it is responding to self-publishing and subscription models.
August 8, 2014
(Reuters) - News Corp (NWSA.O), publisher of the Wall Street Journal, reported better-than-expected quarterly revenue as growth in its book publishing business helped to make up for a decline in revenue in its bigger news and information division.
News Corp, whose shares were up marginally at $17.50 in after-market trading on Thursday, has been focusing more on book publishing as its newspaper business struggles with weak ad spending in an increasingly digital world.
July 25, 2014
Amazon (AMZN) puts out two sets of numbers in its quarterly financial reports that consistently generate awe and indignation. The first: a soaring revenue number. The second: a tiny profit or-more often in recent years-a loss.
The past quarter was no different. Amazon showed nice sales growth in Thursday's earnings report, bringing in $19.34 billion-23 percent more than it did a year ago, and slightly better than analyst's expectations. It's also a bit better than Google, (GOOG) which grew 22 percent last quarter, and way better than EBay's (EBAY) 13 percent revenue growth.
July 10, 2014
Bloomsbury has put seen a 9% drop in revenue over the three months to 31st May 2014, which chief executive Nigel Newton explained as "a quiet quarter".
Total revenues at the publisher were down 9% compared to the same period in 2013, when they had been up 19% on the year before. In an interim management statement, the company said revenue for the quarter was 7% up compared to the same period in 2012.
March 31, 2014
With tablet sales up year after year, ebook reader sales have been declining, much to the dismay of E-ink. This screen manufacturer is predicting that their revenues will decrease over this quarter and the next as a result of seasonal drops in ereader sales.
In a conference call with investors, E-ink CFO Eddie Chen reported that revenue is expected to decrease between 5 percent and 10 percent from last quarter's NT$5.86 billion ($192 million USD). With revenue at such a level
March 26, 2014
The international media company Bertelsmann invested heavily in expanding its businesses in 2013, as the company increased its revenues, operating result and Group profit. Investments in implementing the Group's strategy amounted to €2 billion, including financial debt assumed, up from €655 million in the previous year, and its largest sum since 2005. Group profit increased by 42 percent to €870 million. This is the highest Group profit since 2006, and is well above the latest expectations.
March 11, 2014
Cenveo Publisher Services, a leading content and publishing solutions company, today announced the launch of a survey to assess publishers' profitability for digital apps and other mobile products. Publishers have invested heavily in technology for decades and audiences expect both print and digital formats of content across devices. The "Making Digital Pay" survey will provide a comprehensive baseline for the industry to understand where publishers are in comparison with others on the profitability scale.
