Thursday, publishing company Scholastic Corp. (SCHL) posted a narrower loss for the third quarter, reflecting significantly lower loss from discontinued operations. The company reaffirmed its earnings guidance for the full year.
Net loss narrowed to $36 million or $0.98 per share from $79.3 million or $2.06 per share in the year ago period.
Net loss from continuing operations widened to $35.1 million or $0.95 per share from $1.4 million in the prior-year quarter. Loss from continuing operations included $0.73 per share in non-cash charges associated with the company's U.K. goodwill and investments, and $0.10 per share in one-time severance and expenses associated with cost reductions.
Excluding these items, the loss from continuing operations was $0.12 per share, wider than $0.03 per share in the prior-year period.
Revenues declined to $424.9 million from $440.4 million in the corresponding quarter last year.
On a segmental basis, children's book publishing and distribution revenue rose 2% to $223.3 million from $218.3 million in the previous year. The company attributed the growth to increased sales of J.K. Rowling's "The Tales of Beedle the Bard", "The 39 Clues" and "The Hunger Games".
Educational publishing revenue decreased 2% to $74.7 million from $76.5 million in the year-ago quarter. International revenue declined 17% to $88.5 million from $107 million last year. Media, licensing and advertising revenue was flat at $38.4 million, compared to $38.6 million in the same period last year.
Commenting on the latest quarter results, Richard Robinson, the chairman, president and chief executive officer of Scholastic stated, "Scholastic successfully sustained revenues last quarter in our market-leading children's book and educational technology businesses".
Robinson added that the company took further actions towards achieving 9-10% operating margins by reducing costs, exiting non-core businesses and writing down unproductive assets.
Net loss for the nine-month period widened to $42 million or $1.12 per share from $6.5 million or $0.16 per share in the comparable year-ago period. Net loss from continuing operations was $19.4 million or $0.52 per share, compared to profit of $86.3 million or $2.19 per share in the previous year.
Nine-month revenues dropped to $1.36 billion from $1.64 billion last year.
The publisher said it continues to expect fiscal 2009 earnings from continuing operations of $1.20 - $1.50 per share, excluding severance and one-time expenses associated with cost savings, as well as non-cash charges for goodwill impairments and non-operating items.
The company said it is confident about the fourth quarter and was on track in achieving its fiscal 2009 guidance for earnings and free cash flow.
SCHL is currently trading up $2.80 or 21.39% at $15.89.
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June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.