Lagardère announced results for third quarter and the first nine months of 2022 today. Highlights of the company’s financial performance are as follows:
At Hachette Book Group:
Hachette Book Group CEO Michael Pietsch said, “HBG’s third quarter and year-to-date revenues are up significantly due to the acquisition of Workman, who joined us in September 2021, and slightly behind an extraordinarily strong 2021 like-for-like. Strong sales for adult and young adult fiction, led by Colleen Hoover’s Verity, combined with growth in downloadable audio and in our third-party distribution business, led the quarter.
“Major Q3 publications included the deluxe hardcover edition of Verity, Elin Hilderbrand’s The Hotel Nantucket, David Baldacci’s The 6:20 Man, Sandra Brown’s Overkill, James Patterson’s Shattered, Robert Galbraith’s The Ink Black Heart, and Jennifer Lynn Barnes’s The Final Gambit. The Hotel Nantucket, The 6:20 Man, Jennifer Lynn Barnes’s The Inheritance Games series, and David Sedaris’s Happy-Go-Lucky all reached #1 on the New York Times Bestsellers list.
“Award highlights in the quarter included the Dayton Literary Peace Prize for Clint Smith and How the Word is Passed (Little, Brown). The fourth quarter began with the announcement of a Nobel Prize for Svante Pääbo, author of Neanderthal Man (Basic Books), and a MacArthur Fellowship for Reuben Jonathan Miller, author of Halfway Home (Little, Brown). Little, Brown Books for Young Readers announced an exciting new graphic novel imprint, LB Ink. And an especially strong lineup will take us through the end of the year, with new books from bestselling authors David Baldacci, Michael Connelly, Patricia Cornwell, Sam Heughan, Elin Hilderbrand, N.K. Jemisin, Christopher Kimball, Andrew Morton, Joel Osteen, James Patterson, Stacy Schiff, Rick Steves, and a spectacular array of 2023 calendars from Workman.”
At Hachette Livre:
Hachette Livre delivered revenue of €1.996 billion in the first 9 months of the year, up 9.3% as reported and up 0.8% like-for-like, “reflecting the ongoing high sales base in the wake of the unprecedented gains in 2021,” according to Lagardère’s press release. “The difference between reported and like-for-like revenue can be attributed to a €90 million positive scope effect (mainly due to the consolidation of Workman Publishing and Paperblanks), and to a €66 million positive currency effect (€55 million linked to the US dollar and €9 million to the pound sterling).”
In the third quarter of 2022, revenue was €780 million, up 3.6% compared to the third quarter of 2021.
The third quarter figures below are presented on a like-for-like basis:
In France: France reported revenue growth of 1.0% “despite a market contraction of 1.0% compared to the same period in 2021. General Literature was lifted by the bestsellers Cher Connard by Virginie Despentes and Angélique by Guillaume Musso, as well as good momentum at Le Livre de Poche. Revenue for the Children and Young Adult segment held firm, while Education retreated versus 2021 due to cuts in public funding for primary and secondary school textbooks.”
In the US: third quarter revenues rose 4.7% “in a declining market, thanks in particular to the success of regular favorite authors, as well as the clamor surrounding Verity by Colleen Hoover.”
In the UK: UK revenue growth came in at 8.6% “in a slightly growing market (up 1.6%). Adult Trade posted a strong performance, boosted by the success of Colleen Hoover’s Verity and The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood, which are both hugely popular on TikTok. Australia also posted a strong performance on the back of buoyant sales of titles popular on social media.”
In Spain/Latin America: Business in Spain/Latin America grew by 10.5%, “buoyed by the roll-out of curriculum reform in Spain and a solid performance in the Trade segment, which was lifted by the success of Ali Hazelwood’s La hipótesis del amor. Business in Mexico was propelled by a rebound in Trade and strong momentum in the Dictionary segment.”
Partworks: Partworks revenue fell 4.9% “on the back of a weaker contribution from backlist collections, especially in Germany, France and the United Kingdom.”
Ebooks: In the third quarter ebooks accounted for 9.0% of total Lagardère Publishing revenue compared to 8.4% in third-quarter 2021, while digital audiobooks represented 4.0% of revenue versus 3.6% in the same period last year.
At Lagardère:
The Lagardère group delivered €5.008 billion in revenue in the first nine months of 2022, up 41.5% on a reported basis and up 34.1% like for like. “The difference between published and comparable data is explained by a favorable exchange rate effect of €184 million, mainly linked to the appreciation of the US dollar (+€136 million), and by a positive scope effect of €86 million, mainly linked to the acquisitions of Workman Publishing and Paperblanks from Lagardère Publishing, and of Creative Table Holdings Ltd (Dubai) from Lagardère Travel Retail.”
Read more in Lagardère’s press release. Full year 2022 results will be announced on February 16, 2023.