Lagardère Publishing sales grow 2.5% in first half

Hachette parent company Lagardère Publishing’s sales grew 2.5% in the first six months of 2023, while higher costs pushed profits down, reports Publishers Weekly.

Lagardère’s recurring EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) fell 16% to €65 million (A$106m), while sales totalled €1.25 billion (A$2.05). Revenue grew in all of Lagardère’s major markets, except in the US, where Hachette Book Group sales were down 8.6%. Sales grew 7% in France, 7.3% in the UK and 26.1% in Spain and Latin America.

Hachette Book Group CEO Michael Pietsch attributed the US sales decline to a number of factors, including that ‘the ebbing of the pandemic lift that began in the second half of 2022’ continued into the first half of 2023. Sales of backlist titles, children’s and Christian books, and certain adult nonfiction segments ‘faced particular challenges in a down market’.

In June, the European Commission conditionally approved French media company Vivendi’s acquisition of Lagardère, pending the sale of Vivendi’s Editis book publishing subsidiary and the sale of Gala magazine.

Category: International news