In a report on the fiscal year for 2009, Bertelsmann (Random House’s corporate parent) reported that Random House revenues were up 0.1 percent at €1.7 billion (previous year: €1.7 billion, +0.1 percent). Operating profit held steady at €137 million.
Bertelsmann celebrated the fact that Random House USA had 238 titles land on New York Times bestseller lists–with 28 titles reaching number one. At the end of 2009, the publisher counted than 120 publishing imprints and 5,432 employees. In addition, Random House CEO Markus Dohle sent a letter to his colleagues about the fiscal year.
The complete text follows after the jump. Here’s an excerpt: “The digital phenomenon is not about cannibalization and substitution. It is about coexisting format growth. For us at Random House, e-publishing is an opportunity to increase access to our books and to the universe of readers. Our creative and commercial goals for the digital and print formats are identical: it is imperative for us to grow both simultaneously. Managing our digital transition effectively also means keeping our print business strong and healthy–and we will be making key investments in talent, content development, and marketing and sales capabilities for both.”