Cross-Border Postal Rates Will Increase on July 1 (mytotalretail.com)

Global learning company Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH) announced today a partnership with education nonprofit City Year to launch HMH Classroom Corps, a unique multi-tiered program that provides employees with opportunities to connect with teachers and students in schools across the United States. Part of the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility program, HMH Classroom Corps will connect employees with local City Year chapters to host Learning Forums—interactive events focused on helping students build literary and math skills through hands-on activities. In March, HMH employees across three offices participated in the inaugural Learning Forums at P.S. 75 School of Research and Discovery in New York City, the Lake View YMCA in Chicago, and the Curtis Guild Elementary School in Boston. Volunteers guided elementary school students through literacy and STEM activities, including assembling geometric shapes using marshmallows and toothpicks, conducting volcano experiments, and performing short plays from HMH’s Readers’ Theater collection. Each student was able to select from hundreds of donated HMH books to take home. Click Read More below for additional information.

Second quarter operating revenues increased 3.4% to $774.5 million, including a $9.1 million unfavorable foreign currency impact, compared to $748.8 million in the prior year quarter. The year-over-year increase was due to the contribution from acquired operations2. On a same store basis, operating revenues in the second quarter declined 10.6%, a slight improvement compared to a decline in the 2017 first quarter of 10.8%, as a result of improved domestic print advertising and circulation revenues. Total digital revenues in the second quarter grew 43.5% year-over-year to $242.6 million, or approximately 31% of total revenue, which includes the contribution from ReachLocal acquired in August 2016. GAAP net loss for the second quarter was $0.5 million, including $21.8 million of after-tax restructuring, acquisition, severance, asset impairment, facility consolidation and other related costs; approximately $14.6 million of these charges were non-cash. Adjusted EBITDA for the second quarter was $83.7 million compared to $91.7 million in the prior year quarter. Click Read More below for additional detail.

The Postal Service has been implementing a new strategic approach with respect to its contracts with package consolidator companies - ones that consolidate large volumes of packages for entry into various points of the USPS network. These contracts no longer reflect operational and financial realities in today’s market, the Postal network, or USPS’ refreshed product offerings. As a result, while the Postal Service has and will enter into new agreements with package consolidator companies consistent with its current business strategy, the Postal Service will no longer offer discounted rates through Negotiated Service Agreements (NSAs) for packages entered by consolidators at Post Office Delivery Units. “As we engage in the process of modernizing our network, we are also changing our product and pricing strategies to ensure that they are aligned with our operating model and goals,” said Postmaster General, Louis DeJoy. “As one part of this new approach, we have decided that it is appropriate to make changes to how we utilize NSAs in the provision of our Parcel Select product. In that regard, to more effectively utilize our network and realize enhanced economies, we no longer intend to provide discounted rates through NSAs that incent parties to aggregate mail volume from multiple shippers and to bring such volume directly to our delivery units.”