Newscorp, the parent company of HarperCollins, reported their official 2007 fiscal numbers. HarperCollins had a mixed bag for the 4th quarter. Revenue was up $39 million over the same quarter in 2006 to $295 million, but full year operating income declined $8 million.
HarperCollins indicated that that the $8 million decline was due to the 2006 sales of The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis that were fueled by the movie remake.
“During the fourth quarter, HarperCollins had 53 books on The New York Times bestseller list, including 8 titles that reached the number one spot, and for the full year HarperCollins had 128 books on The New York Times bestseller list, including 16 titles that reached the number one position.”
HarperCollins just signed First Lady Bush and her daughter, Jenna Bush, for a picture book about a “mischievous boy who likes to do everything but read. With the help of his teacher, he finds out that books and their characters can be a lot of fun.” The book will be illustrated by Denise Brunkus, illustrator of the bestselling Junie B. Jones series.
From the Press Release and Publishers’ Weekly.
