MAIN NEWS HEADLINES
September 3 – September 10, 2009 Edition
Lagardere Publishing Profits Soar
PARIS/AUTHORLINK NEWS/09/01/09–Lagardere, parent company to Hachette Book Group in the USA, reported on August 27 a 61.1% increase in profits to 112 million euros. The earnings increase was partly fueled by continuing strength of sales of books by Stephenie Meyer in the U.S., UK, Australia and France.
In July, Lagardere reported consolidated revenues for the six months ended June 30, 2009 totaled 3,720.0m, representing a fall of 2.2% on a reported basis and of 3.5% on a like-for-like basis. However, Hachette publishing group had an 11% increase in sales to 1 billion euros for that period.
Stephenie Meyer books also drove sales for the first quarter of the year, while no new releases for James Patterson in the quarter impacted the bottom line. In 2008, two Patterson novels drove sales up.
Looking ahead, Hachette Book Group will release several major projects for the fall. The film release of New Moon will be released in November 2009, creating a positive effect on book sales for the title. Eclipse trade paperback edition and Breaking Dawn Special Edition (features exclusive Breaking Dawn concert series DVD) will also be released this fall along with Julie Powells memoir, and the late Sen. Edward M Kennedys memoir True Compass. Other potential revenue producers include Jamess Pattersons I Alex Cross, The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks, True Blue by David Baldacci, Malcolm Gladwells What the Dog Saw and Nine Dragons by Michael Connelly.
