Gannett Announces Second Quarter 2021 Results

Highlights:*Underlying revenue down 17% on prior year largely due to COVID-19*Group sales decline largely reflects test centre and school closures in Global Assessment and International. After deterioration from March to May we saw improving sales trends in June.*Global Online Learning sales grew 5% due to strong enrolments in new and existing schools in Virtual Schools and slight revenue growth in OPM with good growth in continuing programs offset by discontinued programs.*Global Assessment declined 27% due to the impact of test centre closures in Professional Certification (Pearson VUE), cancellation of spring testing in Student Assessment and school closures impacting Clinical Assessments.*North American Courseware declined 14% with US Higher Education Courseware declining in line with expectations due to the continuation of trends seen in 2019, and a modest impact from the closure of campus-based bookstores. We saw a weaker performance in courseware in Canada largely as a result of school and bookstore closures. *International declined 23% due to the disruption in businesses which rely on physical locations including school and test centre closures.

Grainger announced the release of its 2023 Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) Report on www.GraingerESG.com. The report, which covers the fiscal year that ended Dec. 31, 2022, highlights how Grainger's purpose-driven culture directly supports its ESG initiatives. The report also emphasizes Grainger's focus on four key priorities: Customer Sustainability Solutions, Supplier Diversity, Energy and Emissions, and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI).

Commenting on the results, Nigel Newton, Chief Executive, said: “Bloomsbury delivered excellent results in the first half with year-on-year revenue growth of 29% to £100.7 million and profit growth of 225% to £12.9 million. These are our highest ever first half sales and profits. These results demonstrate the strength and resilience of our strategy of publishing for both the consumer and academic markets, and our growth of digital revenues. Both divisions had outstanding performances. The Consumer division continued the momentum of last year with 29% revenue growth and a £5.6 million increase in profit before tax and highlighted items to £8.4 million. Bestsellers during the period included Tom Kerridge’s Outdoor Cooking, Piranesi by Susanna Clarke, A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas, The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon and The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller. Since the period end Bloomsbury authors have won two of the most important prizes in the literary world, The Nobel Prize for Literature and The Women’s Prize, which were won by Abdulrazak Gurnah and Susanna Clarke respectively. We congratulate them both. The Non-Consumer division saw 27% growth and a £3.2 million increase in profit before tax and highlighted items to £4.6 million. Bloomsbury Digital Resources grew by 44% in addition to a very strong recovery in print sales, which grew by 34%. The focus on our online academic digital resource strategy means we are well placed to continue to benefit from the accelerated shift by academic institutions to digital products to support hybrid learning.