Results Rise at Simon & Schuster
By Jim Milliot -- Publishers Weekly, 11/5/2009 3:58:00 PM
Simon & Schuster turned in its best quarter of the year in the period ended September 30, with sales increasing 2.4%, to $230.4 million, and operating income ahead 13.6%, to $26.6 million. The improvement in earnings was the result of the higher sales partially offset by higher write-offs of advances for author royalties. CEO Carolyn Reidy said sales began to pick up in mid-quarter as the chains started to increase orders, but she was disappointed that the fall has seen little momentum. “The marketplace is not as robust as we would like,” Reidy said. “I thought we’d see more of a lift from the strong lists [from all publishers] than we have.”
Looking back at the third quarter, Reidy said the adult division led the gains with strength across all formats. Two Glenn Beck titles helped drive sales, Arguing with Idiots and Glenn Beck’s Common Sense. Other titles that did well include The Time of My Life by Patrick Swayze, Smash Cut by Sandra Brown, Handle with Care by Jodi Picoult, and Become a Better You by Joel Osteen. In addition, sales of Vince Flynn titles continued to increase at a rapid rate.The children’s group had a modest increase and sales in the audio unit were down, something Reidy attributed to weakness in the retail market where high prices and dwindling shelf space have hurt sales. E-book sales continued their steady growth in the quarter and are approaching 4% of monthly sales, the same percentage reported yesterday by HarperCollins.
Despite the difficult retail market, Reidy remains “guardedly optimistic” about prospects for the holidays. Pursuit of Honor, Half Broke Horses, It’s Your Time, and Under the Dome are among the titles that S&S expects to sell well in the quarter, plus George Carlin’s Last Words.
For the nine-month period, revenue at S&S fell 6.4%, to $573.5 million, and operating profit declined 38.9%, to $36.6 million.
