Lagardere, the parent company of Hachette, released their quarterly financial statement and the news was not good. Revenue was down for most parts of Lagardere, and that includes a slight dip in the net income for the publishing division.
Lagardere Publishing saw a 6% drop from last year, with the one bright spot being the US, where Hachette revenue increased by 12%. At the end of December, ebooks were pegged at 10% of revenue in the UK, and 20% in the US.
Yes, US revenues increased overall, but ebook sales only increased at the same rate. What I find interesting is that past reports from Hachette have pegged ebooks at 20% and 22% of US revenues. That’s a plateau, and the US market is still growing.
In fact, we’re seeing some smaller publishers reporting meteoric growth in ebook sales. This raises the question of why Hachette isn’t seeing the same growth as everyone else.
Ideas?
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