MAIN NEWS HEADLINES
September 13 – September 20, 2007 Edition
Holtzbrinck Publishing
Increases U.S. Revenues
Across All Business Units
STUTTGART, GERMANY/9/11/07–The US publishing group, Holtzbrinck Publishers, privately owned by Verlagsgruppe Georg von Holtzbrinck in Stuttgart, Germany, has posted an overview of its 2006 financial performance on its website, www.holtzbrinck.com. The group achieved revenue of €2,243m (about $3 billion), representing a 7.5% increase over 2005 when adjusted for exchange rates. EBITDA for 2006 was €207m, a 10% increase over 2005.
The company said the increases were achieved despite a significant increase in development and start-up costs for new products and business models. The publishing group expanded its position in nearly every market in fiscal 2006 and showed unprecedented success in bestseller lists and market share growth. School, college and scientific publishing all succeeded in expanding market presence with innovative titles and services in both print and digital formats.
The US trade publishers, including St. Martin’s Press, Farrar Straus and Giroux, Henry Holt & Company, Picador, and Roaring Brook Press, increased 8% to €633.8 million while revenue in the education/science group increased 7.8%.
The year also saw increasingly dynamic activity in the group’s digital media branch with the reorganization and expansion of its business division Digital Media: Holtzbrinck eLAB set out to develop user-oriented internet and mobile applications. Income in the electronic media and services unit soared 44.4%, to €28.3 million.
The group’s financial policy is geared towards long-term stability and growth. The change in the net financial position was largely influenced by acquisitions realized in 2006. The largest single effect stemmed from the acquisition of a 33.43% share in the Verlagsgruppe Handelsblatt, which had previously been held by Georg Dieter von Holtzbrinck, a former shareholder in the group.
The group’s international publishing activities are divided between four broad business areas:
Trade publishing Education and science Newspapers and business information Electronic media and services
Worldwide, family-owned Holtzbrinck publishing operations are active in more than 80 countries and publishes works in both print and electronic media, providing information, disseminating knowledge, and serving the needs of educational, professional, and general readership markets. Sales in North America account for about 24% of total group revenues. About 48% of the company’s publishing sales come from the German market. In 2006, the group employed 15,473 people worldwide (previous year: 13,872).
