Educational publisher Scholastic Corp., though its numbers are still down for the year to date, reported a 9% jump in second-quarter net income—to $72.7 million. At the same time, revenue fell by 2% to $683.3 million, in part because of lower continuities and Harry Potter sales.
Revenue declined by $21.2 million in the firm’s continuities business, but profits rose, thanks. in part, to higher pay-rates and the firm’s focus on more productive customers. Scholastic’s Children’s Book Publishing & Distribution unit, of which continuities is a part, experienced a 6% revenue decline to $425 million, but profits rose by 2% to $95.7 million. The company’s Basic Toys catalog business also achieved positive results, but these were not broken out.
Overall company revenue fell by 14% to $1 billion during the first six months. Net income fell by 14% to $22.4 million, compared with $41.9 million last year.
“Results in the second quarter demonstrate our progress in increasing profitability through cost control and margin improvement,” said CEO Richard Robinson in a statement. He also cited higher-margin sales, lower bad debt and lower selling, general and administrative expenses.
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