With No Potter, Sales Plunged at Scholastic in Q1

With a 52% decline in its children’s book publishing and distribution group, total revenue fell 33% at Scholastic in the quarter ended August 31, compared to the same period a year ago. Sales in the first quarter of fiscal 2018 were $189.2 million, down from $282.7 million in the first period of fiscal 2017.

The decline was due to a lack of a blockbuster title that could compare to sales of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, which was released during the first quarter of last year.

Sales in Scholastic’s trade unit plunged 60% in the quarter, falling to $46.7 million from $116.9 million. While Scholastic CEO Dick Robinson pointed to a number of bestselling new titles in this quarter, including Dav Pilkey’s Dog Man: A Tale of Two Kitties, revenue from those books was not nearly enough to offset the revenue derived from Cursed Child last year.

Overall revenue in the children’s publishing and distribution group (which includes the trade unit), fell 52% as sales in book clubs and book fairs fell 6% and 2%, respectively.

The decline in total company revenue contributed to an operating loss of $101.8 million in the quarter, up from $62.5 million in the first quarter of 2017. One-time charges of $8.3 million also added to the higher loss. Net loss rose to $63.7 million, up from $39.6 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2017.

In its other major segments, sales in the education group fell 18%, to $45.0 million, which Scholastic attributed to the timing of orders for customized curriculum product. Partially offsetting this decline was higher sales of professional learning products and services.

International group revenue in the quarter was also affected by last year’s overseas sales of Child; sales in the group dropped 14%, to $77.4 million.

Despite the sales decline in the quarter, Scholastic said it still expects to finish fiscal 2018 with revenue between $1.65 billion and $1.70 billion. In fiscal 2017, Scholastic had sales of $1.74 billion.
https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/financial-reporting/article/74827-with-no-potter-sales-plunged-at-scholastic-in-q1.html

Related Posts

Walgreens Boots Alliance and McKesson Complete the Formation of German Wholesale Joint Venture

Walgreens Boots Alliance and McKesson Corporation announced the completion of their previously announced agreement to create a joint venture combining their respective pharmaceutical wholesale businesses in Germany, Alliance Healthcare Deutschland (AHD) and GEHE Pharma Handel (GEHE). WBA holds a 70 percent controlling equity interest in the joint venture and McKesson holds the remaining 30 percent interest. “At Walgreens Boots Alliance, we all look forward to working together with McKesson Corporation on this joint venture,” said Ornella Barra, co-chief operating officer, Walgreens Boots Alliance. “It is a very exciting step for our Pharmaceutical Wholesale Division and a unique chance for us to further develop innovative services to manufacturers and pharmacists in Germany.”

HBG Sales Rose 2.7% in 2017

Sales at the Hachette Book Group rose 2.7% last year, parent company Lagardere reported. The increase was attributed in part to contributions from Perseus (where You Are a Badass sold over 648,000 print copies) and its Nashville-based imprints (where The Shack had strong sales). HBG also benefited from a full year ownership of Perseus, which it acquired at the end of March in 2016. Earlier this year. Lagardere reported that total revenue in the publishing group was €2.29 billion, up 1.1% over 2016. In its release Thursday, the company said EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) rose 1.0%, to €210 million. Similar to the sales gain, Lagardere said the profit improvement was "mainly attributable to a strong performance in the United States," driven by "successful releases" as well as continued profitability gains from the consolidation of Perseus. Click Read More below for additional information.

Chico’s FAS, Inc. Reports Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2017 Results

For the fourteen weeks ended February 3, 2018 ("the fourth quarter"), the Company reported net income of $28.0 million, or $0.22 per diluted share, compared to net income of $13.5 million, or $0.10 per diluted share, for the thirteen weeks ended January 28, 2017 ("last year's fourth quarter"). For the fourth quarter, gross margin was $221.6 million, or 37.7% of net sales, compared to $213.4 million, or 35.5% of net sales, in last year's fourth quarter. This 220 basis point increase primarily reflects a 170 basis point improvement in merchandise margin driven by lower average unit costs and a reduction in store occupancy costs. Click Read More below for additional information.
Back To Top
×Close search
Search