At Hachette Book Group:
Hachette Book Group CEO Michael Pietsch said, “HBG’s third quarter revenues included strong performance in backlist, audiobooks, science fiction and fantasy, Mini Kits, children’s books, and travel books. Year to date our revenues trail 2022, due to challenging comparisons with two of the year’s biggest breakouts, Dolly Parton and James Patterson’s Run, Rose, Run and Colleen Hoover’s Verity, and a generally soft market for new titles and print formats.
We’re anticipating a strong Q4 with a thrilling lineup of new books from Kerry Washington, James Patterson, Kerri Maniscalco, Ben Mezrich, Michael Connelly, Patricia Cornwell, David Baldacci, Jenna Bush Hager & Barbara Pierce Bush, and Philip Glass.”
At Hachette Livre:
Hachette Livre delivered revenue of €2.014 billion in the first 9 months of the year, up .9% as reported and up 0.3% like-for-like, “Despite disparate market conditions in France and the United States, Lagardère Publishing maintained strong trading momentum,” according to Lagardère’s press release. “The difference between reported and like-for-like data is attributable to a €38 million positive scope effect, chiefly linked to the acquisition of Welbeck Publishing Group, and to a €27 million negative currency effect (related to the US dollar and the pound sterling).” In the third quarter of 2023, revenue was €767 million, down slightly by 1.6% compared to the third quarter of 2022.
The third quarter figures below are presented on a like-for-like basis:
In France: revenue for the division declined 5.0% in a slightly declining market, “primarily reflecting the fact that Guillaume Musso did not release a new large-format or Livre de Poche paperback during the period.” General Literature was buoyed by several bestsellers and Illustrated Books lifted by Young Adult titles including Sarah Rivens’ Captive series and Fallen Angel by Camille Creati. Hachette Livre saw good momentum for Tourist Guides on the back of the recovery in travel.
In the US: third quarter revenues dipped 5.2%, due to “a lighter publication schedule compared to the same period in 2022 and a downward trend in the overall publishing market in the third quarter.”
In the UK: UK revenue rose by 5.6% “in a slightly more buoyant market, driven by the Adult Trade segment with frontlist successes such as Stephen King’s Holly and Rebecca Yarros’s Fourth Wing – which was highly popular on social media – and a strong backlist performance.”
In Spain/Latin America: Business in Spain/Latin America “was up by a robust 9.3%, mainly due to the peak of the school curriculum reform campaign in Spain and a strong performance by the Trade segment in Mexico.”
Partworks: Partworks revenue fell 8.2% “owing to a less dynamic launch campaign at the beginning of the year than in 2022.”
Ebooks: In the third quarter ebooks accounted for 9.0% of total Lagardère Publishing revenue unchanged from Q3 2022, while digital audiobooks represented 4.1% of revenue versus 4.0% in the same period last year.
At Lagardère:
The Lagardère group delivered €5.914 billion in revenue in the first nine months of 2023, up 18.1% on a reported basis and up 15.3% like for like. “The difference between reported and like-for-like data is attributable to a €170 million positive scope effect, mainly due to the acquisitions of Marché International AG (Germany) and Costa Coffee (Poland) by Lagardère Travel Retail, and of Welbeck Publishing Group (United Kingdom) by Lagardère Publishing, as well as to a €48 million negative currency effect, mainly related to the depreciation of the US dollar (€22 million negative impact) and the pound sterling (€17 million negative impact).”
The group’s third-quarter 2023 revenue came in at €2,213 billion, up 11.7% as reported and up 9.6% like for like. The difference between reported and like for like data reflects an €83 million positive scope effect and a €44 million negative currency effect.
Read more in Lagardère’s press release If you have questions about today’s announcement, please contact Sophie Cottrell.