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Simon & Schuster has recorded global sales of $219m (£157m) in its second quarter, a rise of 9% compared with $200m (£144m) in the same period last year. It comes as the company continues to "fire on all cylinders" and experience growth across children's, fiction, and non-fiction in the UK.
The parent company of S&S ViacomCBS released its second quarter results with S&S listed as a discontinued operation, alongside other companies. Discontinued operations generated $41m (£29.4m) for the three months ending 30th June. The 9% rise is in line with $218m (£156.5m) reported in 2019, with an operating income of $54m (£38.8m) up from $39m (£28m) for the same period ending 30th June last year. The publisher's net earnings have increased by almost 38%, up from $28m (£20m) in the same period last year.
In the UK, c.e.o. Ian Chapman told The Bookseller the children's division has seen great success with their big author brands, including Ben Miller's books and the Supertato tiles, and titles that have gathered traction on TikTok.
He said: "As reported by ViacomCBS, S&S has ended Q2 in a fantastic position, continuing to grow in both revenues and profits globally. Local publishing in the UK is firing on all cylinders, with growth across children’s, fiction and non fiction.
"The children’s divisions has seen great success with Tik Tok sensation They Both Die at the End which was the bestselling YA title for the first six months of the year and continues to sit in the number one YA slot... Ben Miller’s The Day I Fell Into a Fairytale sales have seen him hit the top 10 children’s bestseller list with the paperback tracking 100% up on his previous title in paperback. Dragon Legend and Danny Wallace’s The Day The Screens Went Blank have also sold incredibly strongly."
He added: "Fiction highlights of Q2 were Santa Montefiore’s Here and Now in April and Philippa Gregory’s Dark Tides in May were both Top Ten bestsellers. This division also saw some TikTok success too, with It Ends With Us shining as a star of the backlist. Non-fiction has also had multiple books on the bestseller lists over the past quarter, including John Nichol, Michael Holding and Alice Roberts, along with Dr Sophie Mort and Jess Phillips on the Gallery list."
ViacomCBS has said it still expects the sale of Simon & Schuster to Penguin Random House owner Bertelsmann to complete this year, subject to regulatory approval.