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Harlequin Mills and Boon's parent company Torstar has reported a 22% rise in profits for the second quarter (ending 30th June), although the book publishing arm grew just $700,000.
EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) for the Canadian group was $66.6m (£41m) in the quarter, up $12m or 22% from $54.6m in the second quarter of 2009.
Revenues were also up, rising to $376.5m, up $2.8m from the second quarter of last year. Excluding a $12.4m decrease from the stronger Canadian dollar revenue was up $15.2m, or 4.2% in the quarter.
Book publishing operating profit was $20.4m in the second quarter of 2010, up $0.7m from $19.7m in the second quarter of 2009. Year-to-date, book publishing operating profit was $43.1m, up $2.8m from $40.3m last year. The company saw $4.7m of underlying growth, more than offsetting a loss of $1.9m from the impact of foreign exchange.
David Holland, Torstar president and c.e.o., said: "We continue to be pleased with results in 2010." He added: "At Harlequin, growth in earnings from operations was more than sufficient to offset the foreign exchange headwinds we are confronting. In both of our divisions we are pleased with the progress we are making in adapting to the increasingly digital environment."
Looking forward, Holland said: "At Harlequin, we anticipate another good year operationally but the anticipated improvement in earnings is likely to be offset by the negative impact of the strong Canadian dollar on results."