Hachette UK revenue down 1.4% in 2019

Lagardère full-year results show that Hachette UK’s revenue was down 1.4% in 2019, reports the Bookseller.

Hachette UK CEO David Shelley said that while 2019 was a strong year for the company, it was missing a book on the scale of 2018’s Fire and Fury (Michael Wolff) or Fantastic Beasts: The crimes of Grindelwald (J K Rowling).

Some of the publisher’s bestselling books were Billy Connolly’s Tall Tales and Wee Stories, Anne Glenconner’s Lady in Waiting, Emily Eavis’ Glastonbury 50 and Delia Owens’ Where the Crawdads Sing, as well as new books by Martina Cole, Ian Rankin, John Grisham, Stephen King and Michael Connelly.

The acquisitions of Short Books and Teejay Maths ‘continued to perform well’, while Bookouture had a ‘record year’ in 2019.

Sales for France-based Lagardère Publishing totalled €2.38 billion (A$4.05 bn) for the year, up 5.9% on a consolidated basis and up 2.8% like-for-like. It was buoyed by a good year in France, where revenue was up 6.3%, while Hachette US was down 1%.

Category: International news