Hachette UK sales up 11% for 2016

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From The Bookseller:

Hachette UK’s parent company Lagardère has published its annual results, reporting sales in the UK grew by 11% in 2016, helped by Little, Brown titles Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and Fantastic Beasts that helped to offset the full-year impact of a return to the agency agreement for e-books.

The annual results provide further detail following Lagardère’s Q4 financial results in February, when the same two books were credited in contributing to 17.5% sales growth for Hachette UK in 2016’s fourth quarter.

. . . .

Lagardère Publishing improved its operating margin by 0.2 points to 9.2% and this increase in profitability was attributed to three things: profitability gains in the US, due to “disciplined cost management”; the performance of Partworks in Japan and Spain; and the impact of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and Fantastic Beasts in the UK, which it said “more than offset the decline in digital revenue in the UK”.

Link to the rest at The Bookseller

PG suspects “disciplined cost management” includes smaller author advances.

4 thoughts on “Hachette UK sales up 11% for 2016”

  1. “PG suspects “disciplined cost management” includes smaller author advances.”

    Well, it certainly wouldn’t mean lower executive salaries. Or cheaper paper for interoffice memos.

  2. Hachette UK reports 17.5% sales hike in fourth quarter

    Harry Potter helps Hachette UK to 30% third quarter sales rise

    But only “Hachette UK sales up 11% for 2016”?

    Suggests how bad the first couple of quarters were.

    Will there be a H.P. ‘adult’ colouring book to save them in ’17?

  3. I wouldn’t have much faith in a company that can’t do better than get two books selling. And apparently the same two as the year before? Pretty soon that nickle and dime are going to be squeezed dry. What then?

  4. I’m really disappointed to read that they bought up Bookouture. As a reader, Bookouture was one of my favorite publishers.

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