Hachette Book Group’s Revenues Down 12.3%

By Dianna Dilworth 

Hachette Book Group’s revenues dropped 12.3 percent in Q1 2015, Hachette’s parent company Lagardère revealed in its earning release today.

The company attributed the drop to softer sales and a drop in e-book sales. “Hachette Book Group’s results this quarter reflect tough comparisons to Q1 2014 when we saw ‘The Goldfinch,’ ‘I am Malala,’ and ‘Grain Brain’ surging beyond the holidays into the first part of the year, and a Q1 2015 publishing program that was lighter than usual on major hardcover lead titles,” stated Michael Pietsch, CEO of HBG.

Overall, Hachette Livre saw net sales reach $474M, up 7.1 percent from the comparable quarter last year. In France, sales were up 10.4 percent and in the UK, sales were down 4 percent.