HarperCollins revenues fall $20m in first quarter

Revenues at HarperCollins have fallen by $20m (£16.10m) to $389m (£313m) for the first fiscal quarter of 2017, although this decline was partially offset by "the continued expansion of HarperCollins' global footprint", the publisher's parent company News Corp has reported.

News Corp has filed its results for the first quarter to 30th September 2016, revealing that revenues have decreased 5% from $409m (£329.2m) to $389m (£313m) compared with the same period a year earlier, primarily due to the absence of revenues from Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee, which is published in the US by HarperCollins (and by William Heinemann in the UK).

Meanwhile, EBITDA for the company was up 14% on the same period last year to $48m (£38.62m), due to “the mix of titles” including The Black Widow by Daniel Silva, Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance and Jesus Always by Sarah Young.

Digital sales represented 20% of consumer revenues for the quarter.

Companywide, the total revenue for News Corp was $1.97bn (£1.59bn), down 2% from $2.01bn (£1.62bn) for the same period last year. UK results were not broken out.

Chief executive Robert Thomson said: “News Corp made real progress as it continued to drive higher digital revenues and position the company for long-term growth. While the quarter presented some obvious challenges, particularly in print advertising and the weakness of the pound sterling, our revenues were relatively stable, underscoring the strength and scale of our portfolio and shift to digital. Book Publishing extended its gains from last quarter with healthy EBITDA growth despite the prior year comparison with Go Set a Watchman. A strong roster of titles and improvement in religious publishing should augur well for the coming quarters.

"Despite ongoing political and economic uncertainty, particularly in US and UK markets, we remain focused on expanding revenues and driving higher long-term value for investors.”