1 April 2019
Profits rose in 2018 over 2017 at four of the five major trade publishers that report their financial information-and the one company at which earnings were down, Lagardère Publishing, reported an increase in profits at its U.S. subsidiary, Hachette Book Group. Operating margins fell at Lagardère and slipped by a 10th of a percentage point at Penguin Random House but rose at the three other companies. Solid backlist sales and strong sales of digital audio were cited by four of the five publishers as key revenue drivers in the year, though sales of e-books were down.
