S&S global sales down 10% in fourth quarter

Simon & Schuster saw global revenues fall by 10% to $209m (£167.05m) during the fourth quarter of 2016, according to results released by parent company the CBS Corporation. However, operating income over the same period grew by 6% to $36m (£28.77m) as “lower production costs offset the decline in revenues”.

The decrease in revenue reflects a “difficult comparison” with the fourth quarter of 2015 which included the release of a bestselling title by Stephen King (Finder’s Keepers, published by Hodder in the UK), the company said. Bestselling titles for the company in the fourth quarter of 2016 included Scrappy Little Nobody by Anna Kendrick and The Sleeping Beauty Killer by Mary Higgins Clark and Alafair Burke.

CBS did not break out international results, including S&S UK.

For the full year, the publisher achieved sales of $767m (£613.06m), down by $13m (1£0.39m) -- but operating income stood at $119m, ahead of last year's $114m in profits.

Companywide, revenues for the fourth quarter of 2016 were down slightly to $3.52bn (£2.81bn) from $3.59bn (£2.87bn) for the same prior-year period in 2015.