HarperCollins earnings, global revenue drop in first quarter

In the US, HarperCollins’ global revenue was down 11% and earnings fell 54% in the first quarter of the 2023 fiscal year compared to the same period last year, reports Publishers Weekly.

In the three months to 30 September, revenue totalled US$487 million (A$757m) with a profit of US$39 million (A$61m). Parent company News Corp attributed the revenue decline primarily to ‘lower physical book sales due to Amazon’s reset of its inventory levels and rightsizing of its warehouse footprint’, which resulted in lower order volume and higher returns. Currency fluctuations also accounted for 4% of the revenue decline.

The lower sales, combined with higher manufacturing and freight costs, led to the drop in profits.

HarperCollins CEO Brian Murray said the publisher’s Amazon sales have improved over recent weeks, and that he hopes the worst of HarperCollins’ declines are over. However, Murray acknowledged the overall market has become tougher since the end of the pandemic boom, and that there has not yet been a holiday sales increase. Murray added he remains concerned over how consumers will respond to ongoing high inflation.

HarperCollins US announced a number of job cuts last month, and approximately 250 unionised staff are due to start an indefinite strike on 10 November in an ongoing dispute over contracts.

Category: International news