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Financial results varied for publicly held trade publishers in 2019
A
merica’s largest publicly held trade publishers
were already facing challenges before the new
coronavirus hit. Penguin Random House was the
only one of the five companies to post an increase
in sales and earnings in the U.S. last year compared to 2018,
though Hachette Book Group had a profit improvement
despite a 1% decline in revenue.
PRH’s worldwide operations had a 6.2% increase in
revenue over 2018, and EBITDA (earnings before interest,
taxes, depreciation, and amortization) increased 6.3%, to
€561 million. Acquisitions, organic growth, and favorable
exchange rates all contributed to the record year at PRH,
parent company Bertelsmann reported.
In the U.S., which accounted for just over 56% of total PRH
sales (about $2.2 billion at current exchange rates),
gains were led by Where the Crawdads Sing, which
sold more than four million copies across all formats,
while Educated and Becoming each sold more than
two million copies. In children’s books, Dr. Seuss
titles sold more than 10 million copies. Bertelsmann
also cited audiobooks as a growth driver, not only in
the U.S. but in most of its markets. (PRH’s results
were good enough in the U.S. that CEO Madeline
McIntosh approved a onetime payment of $856 for
all employees not entitled to a bonus.)
PRH was the last of the major trade publishers to
release results, and CEO Markus Dohle said in a
letter to employees that the coronavirus pandemic
“has shaken our book community to its core.” He
noted that though PRH has built a strong foundation,
“it is inevitable that we will have to endure some
impact on our business this year.”
Revenue at HarperCollins fell 6.4% in 2019, and
profits declined 22%. The publisher (which operates
on a fiscal year that ends June 30) posted good results
in the first quarter of calendar 2019, but sales declined
throughout the rest of the year as the company faced
difficult comparisons with 2018.
Among the revenue in 2018 that did not recur in
2019 was $28 million from a sublicensing agreement
for the Lord of the Rings trilogy. And there were sev-
eral big hits in 2018: two Joanna Gaines titles, as well
as Girl, Wash Your Face; The Hate U Give; and The8 PUBLISHERS WEEKLY ■ APRIL 6, 2020
Simon & SchusterHoughton Mifflin Harcourt Books & MediaPenguin Random HouseLagardère PublishingHarperCollins2018 2019 Change
Total Sales €2,252.7 €2,384.0 5.9%
Recurring EBIT €200.0 €220.0 10.0%
Margin 8.9% 9.2% –Operating Performances 2018–
(in millions)SOURCE: COMPANY REPORTS, PUBLISHERS WEEKLYSubtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck. The decline was partially
offset in 2019 by the success of The Pioneer Woman Cooks:
The New Frontier and The Beast of Buckingham Palace.
Digital audio posted solid gains in the year, offsetting soft
e-book sales.
The 1% sales decline at HBG was due to unfavorable
comparisons with 2018, when the company benefitted from
strong sales of The President Is Missing and Every Breath,
according to HBG parent company Lagardère. HBG CEO
Michael Pietsch said the publisher’s profit growth was due
to solid performances in its adult and children’s publishing
divisions, a 28% increase at Hachette Audio, and “continued
focus on efficiency.”
The overall sales increase for Lagardère Publishing last2018 2019 Change
Total Sales $825.0 $814.0 -1.3%
OIBDA $153.0 $143.0 -6.5%
Margin 19.0% 18.0% –2018 2019 Change
Total Sales $199.7 $180.0 -9.9%
Adjusted EBITDA $21.9 $14.9 -32.0%
Margin 11.0% 8.3% –2018 2019 Change
Total Sales €3,424.0 €3,636.0 6.2%
EBITDA €528.0 €561.0 6.3%
Margin 15.0% 15.0% –2018 2019 Change
Total Sales $1,802.0 $1,687.0 -6.4%
EBITDA $269.0 $209.0 -22.0%
Margin 15.0% 12.0% –