Record quarter at S&S; sale could be made this year

In the US, Simon & Schuster (S&S) recorded a 17% and 85% jump in sales and earnings respectively in the first quarter of 2022, compared to the same period in 2021, reports Publishers Weekly.

Sales were especially strong in the US, where all divisions had double-digit increases, while international sales were ‘a little above flat’. S&S CEO Jonathan Karp said the performance ‘defied gravity’ amid a flat start for sales in most of the industry.

Karp said S&S is seeing ‘robust sales of classic backlist’, particularly in fiction, which is being driven by social media platforms such as TikTok. S&S audio group sales were up 36%, led by frontlist trade titles and a 40% increase in sales of the Pimsleur Language Program, which Karp called ‘one of the jewels of the company’.

Despite the strong quarter, parent company Paramount Global had ‘restarted the sale process’ for S&S, according to Paramount CFO Naveen Chopra, who said the company believed a deal could close by the end of the year. Chopra added Paramount believes it will get a good price for the publisher given S&S’s strong operating performance in recent years; Penguin Random House (PRH) had previously offered US$2.1 billion (A$3.1b) for S&S, which was blocked by the US government.

Category: International news