At Hachette Book Group:
Hachette Book Group CEO Michael Pietsch said, “HBG’s revenue for the quarter declined, reflecting a generally softer market especially for hardcovers and a comparison to an ebullient Q1 in 2022 that included the launch of Dolly Parton and James Patterson’s Run, Rose, Run. Hachette Audio was a standout in the quarter with increased sales across frontlist and backlist offerings, and three Audie Awards.
Fiction highlights in the first quarter include big bestselling thrillers – James Patterson and Mike Lupica’s The House of Wolvesand Patterson and Brendan Dubois’ Countdown, Harlan Coben’s I Will Find You, Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child’s The Cabinet of Dr. Leng, and continuing strong sales of Colleen Hoover’s Verity. Leading nonfiction titles were Dr. Mark Hyman’s Young Forever, Dr. William Li’s Eat to Beat Your Diet, Joyce Meyer’s The Answer to Anxiety, and James Patterson and Matt Eversmann’sWalk the Blue Line. We had much to cheer on the awards front – Audies for The Monsters We Defy by Leslye Penelope, A Door Made for Me by Tyler Merritt and Happy-Go-Lucky by David Sedaris, a PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel for Oscar Hokeah’s Calling for a Blanket Dance, and a Whiting Award for Linda Kinstler’s Come to This Court and Cry.
The second quarter started on a high note with Admiral William McRaven’s highly anticipated The Wisdom of the Bullfrogbecoming an instant #1 bestseller and Sandra Boynton’s irresistible Woohoo! You’re Doing Great! launching onto the bestseller list in its first week on sale. We have a superb quarter ahead with new books from David Baldacci, Vashti Harrison, T.D. Jakes, Christopher Kimball, Diane Ladd and Laura Dern, Joyce Meyer, James Patterson, Rick Steves, Brent Weeks, Rainn Wilson, and many others.
Beyond exciting publications across all our imprints, we’re very much looking forward to our New York Workman colleagues moving into our Sixth Avenue offices in May. It will be wonderful to have all our NYC publishing divisions together under one roof.”
At Hachette Livre:
Lagardère Publishing delivered revenue of €570 million, up 3.0% as reported and up 1.0% like for like. “In a less dynamic market, Lagardère Publishing maintained strong trading momentum. The difference between reported and like-for like revenue is primarily attributable to a €12 million positive scope effect linked chiefly to the acquisition of Welbeck Publishing Group and Paperblanks,” according to Lagardère’s press release. The changes below for the first quarter are shown on a like for like basis:
In France: revenue for the division “grew strongly by 10.7% during the quarter. Business was driven by a more dynamic publication schedule amid a stable market. General Literature performed well, with bestsellers such as Prince Harry’s Spare and Pierre Lemaitre’s Le Silence et la Colère and strong momentum at Le Livre de Poche. Illustrated Books was lifted by Sarah Rivens’ successful Captive series and the release of graphic novel film tie-in Asterix: The Middle Kingdom. There was also notable growth in tourist guides, linked to the recovery in travel.”
In the US: revenue at Hachette Book Group declined -11.0% “on the back of a lighter publication schedule compared to 2022 and in a sluggish book market.”
In the UK: revenue at Hachette UK grew 9.7% “in a stable market, reflecting an upbeat start to 2023, particularly in the Adult Trade segment especially the digital book publisher Bookouture.”
In Spain/Latin America: revenue rose by 15.6% “mainly due to the strong performance of Larousse in Mexico.”
Partworks: revenue for Partworks fell by -9.3%, “owing to a less dynamic launch campaign than in 2022.”
Ebooks: Ebooks accounted for 8.2% of total Lagardère Publishing revenue in first quarter 2023, versus 8.1% in first quarter 2022, while downloadable audiobooks represented 5.2% of revenue compared to 4.8% in Q1 2022.
At Lagardère:
Revenue for the Lagardère group climbed sharply over the first three months of 2023 to €1.675 billion, up 28.4.% on a reported basis and up 24.4% like for like. The difference between the two is attributed to a positive scope effect of +€33 million due to acquisitions by Travel Retail Group in Germany, Dubai, and Poland, and Lagardère Publishing’s acquisition of Welbeck Publishing Group and Paperblanks, as well as a favorable foreign exchange effect of +€10 million.
Revenue for Other Activities totalled €59 million in the first quarter of 2023, up 3.4 % as reported and up 3.3% like for like, driven by the full reopening of live performance venues.
Read more in Lagardère’s press release. If you have questions about today’s announcement, please contact Sophie Cottrell.
First-half 2023 results will be announced on Tuesday, July 25.