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Children’s book and magazine publisher Egmont UK has unveiled record sales of £49.7m in 2009, a 2% rise on the previous year (£48.9m).
However, Rob McMenemy, senior vice-president, Egmont English language and central Europe, pointed to “flat” book sales during a difficult year and said: “We took this as a good performance in the context of turmoil in the trade last year”.
Despite the rise in group sales, pretax profits fell to £1.4m (£2m) on the back of investment in Egmont US and in digital publishing initiatives. Last year also saw a restructure of the UK business with the loss of nine positions.
Book businesses Egmont Press and Egmont Publishing account for 60% of Egmont UK’s turnover. Their share of the UK children’s book market rose from 6.9% in 2008 to 7.3% in 2009 in retail value terms, according to BML figures.
Publishing successes included Return to the Hundred Acre Wood, the first official sequel to Winnie the Pooh, and Michael Grant’s Gone as well as increased sales in Enid Blyton and Michael Morpugo backlists. Pre-school licensed character properties Timmy Time and Waybuloo also performed well.
McMenemy pointed to “some green shoots” during the first quarter of 2010 and an improvement on 2009’s performance. He said: “We expect 2010 to be less bumpy than 2009.”
The group will continue its current levels of investment, particularly in digital initiatives, said McMenemy. Digital launches in 2010 include Egmont’s first subscription website, I Can Learn, and an e-book range. Further developments include applications for the iPad and iPhone. It is understood that launch units of the iPad in the UK will include a copy of Winnie the Pooh (Egmont), replicating the US launch.