US Rail Strike Update

Total reported sales for the second quarter of 2021 were $2.3 billion, an increase of 6% compared to the second quarter of 2020. The year-over-year increase in revenue was partially driven by stronger business activity as the public sector returned to work and schools began to return to in-class learning. Product sales in the second quarter were up 6% relative to the prior year period, driven by stronger demand for core supply product categories, workspaces and technology. Service revenue in the first quarter was up 8%, largely related to stronger demand for managed print and fulfillment, as well as copy and print services in both BSD and Retail Divisions. The Company reported operating loss of $78 million in the second quarter of 2021, compared to operating loss of $456 million in the prior year period. GAAP operating results in the second quarter included $122 million of charges including $115 million of non-cash asset impairment charges, and $7 million in net merger, restructuring and other operating costs. Asset impairment charges of $115 million in the second quarter of 2021 included $114 million related to impairment of goodwill and other intangible assets at CompuCom, largely related to the macroeconomic effects of COVID-19 on current business conditions. Net merger, restructuring and other operating costs of $7 million were primarily associated with the planned separation of B2B operations. Net loss was $88 million, or $(1.62) per diluted share in the second quarter of 2021, compared to net loss of $439 million, or $(8.19) per diluted share in the second quarter of 2020.

Sixteen of the 50 titles on the longlist for the 2022 National Book Award are published by Penguin Random House US imprints: Five of the ten books longlisted in the Nonfiction category, and four in the Fiction category. So the publishing group has excellent chances at the NBA awards presentation on November 16. The NBA has been presented since 1950 and is regarded as one of the most important book prizes in the U.S. A total of 16 authors on the Penguin Random House US roster have hopes of winning a National Book Award (NBA) this year. One of the foremost book prizes in the U.S. - and hence in the entire English-speaking world - the prestigious award has been presented since 1950, currently in five categories, each with ten nominations for the longlist. The NBAs are administered by the non-profit National Book Foundation. Penguin Random House has especially good chances this time in the important “Nonfiction” category. Here, Bertelsmann’s publishing houses account for fully half of the nominated titles: five out of ten. In the top category, “Fiction,” the U.S. publishing group scored four of the ten slots on the longlist. This is the first time in several years that the publishing group has been represented in all five categories.

A host of new titles and a solid performance by the adult segments led to a 4.7% increase in unit sales of print books last week over the week ended October 8, 2022 at outlets that report to Circana BookScan. Adult fiction returned to its winning ways with sales up 7.1%. There was no single blockbuster driving sales, but five new releases were among the category’s top 10 bestsellers. Hannah Grace’s Wildfire took the #1 spot, selling nearly 60,000 copies. Tatsuki Fujimoto’s Chainsaw Man, Vol. 12 was in third place, selling over 33,000 copies, followed by Judgment Prey by John Sandford, which sold more than 28,000 copies.