S&S revenue grows 10% in 2021, profit up 52%

In the US, Simon & Schuster’s (S&S) revenue grew 10% and its operating income was up 52% year-on-year in 2021, on the back of strong performance from its distribution and international groups, reports Publishers Weekly.

Sales totalled US$933 million (A$1.3b), with operating income of US$213 million (A$296m). S&S CEO Jonathan Karp told Publishers Weekly, ‘It was an extraordinary year for all of our groups.’

S&S distribution division sales were up 50% and international sales were up 25%. Both units were helped by strong sales of manga, with S&S the worldwide distributor for leading manga publisher Viz Media.

Adult group sales were up 4%, led by the Atria publishing group, which houses TikTok stars Colleen Hoover and Taylor Jenkins Reid. Two adult titles sold more than a million copies last year: American Marxism by Mark R Levin and The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave.

Children’s group sales grew 7%, with bestsellers including These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong and Aristotle and Dante Dive Into the Waters of the World by Benjamin Alire Saenz.

An 11% increase in audiobook sales offset a 9% decline in ebook revenue to leave digital sales flat overall.

As previously reported by Books+Publishing, in 2020 Bertelsmann announced plans to acquire S&S from media company ViacomCBS—now called Paramount—before the US Department of Justice sued to block the proposed deal last year. With a trial set for August, Karp praised his employees for keeping their focus on ‘publishing good books’ and noted management is allowing employees to continue to work remotely until the litigation is resolved.

Category: International news