In This Article:
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Revenue: Decreased 3% to $544.6 million.
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Operating Income: $78.9 million, down from $101.3 million in the prior year period.
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Adjusted EBITDA: $108.7 million, compared to $124 million a year ago.
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Net Income: $52 million, down from $76.9 million in the prior year period.
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Earnings Per Share (EPS): $1.82 compared to $2.45 last year.
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Children's Book Publishing and Distribution Revenue: Decreased 6% to $367 million.
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Book Fairs Revenue: $231 million, a decrease of 5%.
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Book Club Revenue: $33.2 million, an increase of 2%.
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Trade Publishing Revenue: $102.8 million, down from $117.9 million in the prior year.
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Entertainment Segment Revenue: $16.8 million.
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Education Solutions Revenue: Down 12% to $71.2 million.
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International Segment Revenue: $86.7 million, in line with the prior year.
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Net Cash Provided by Operating Activities: $71.2 million, down from $109.7 million in the prior year.
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Free Cash Flow: $42.4 million, compared to $88.6 million in the prior year period.
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Net Debt: $120.8 million, compared to a net cash position of $107.7 million at the end of fiscal 2024.
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Share Repurchases: 185,000 shares for $5 million.
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Fiscal Year 2025 Guidance: Revenue growth of 4% to 6%, adjusted EBITDA of $140 million to $150 million.
Release Date: December 19, 2024
For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.
Positive Points
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Scholastic Corp (NASDAQ:SCHL) successfully upsized its unsecured revolving credit facility to $400 million, supporting future growth initiatives.
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The company reaffirmed its fiscal 2025 guidance, reflecting confidence in the second half of the year.
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Scholastic's Book Fairs and Clubs continue to engage millions of kids, with a target of 90,000 fairs in fiscal 2025.
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The release of new titles, such as Dog Man: Big Jim Begins, has seen significant success, contributing to strong sales.
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Scholastic Entertainment received 16 Children's & Family Emmy nominations, highlighting the quality of its content.
Negative Points
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Second quarter revenues decreased by 3% year-over-year, primarily due to timing-related factors in the Children's Book Publishing segment.
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Operating income decreased to $78.9 million from $101.3 million in the prior year period.
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The Education Solutions segment faced a 12% decline in revenues, impacted by lower spending on supplemental curriculum products.
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International segment revenues were flat, with challenges in the Australian retail market contributing to a slight decline.
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Free cash flow decreased significantly to $42.4 million from $88.6 million in the prior year period, driven by higher inventory purchases and lower customer remittances.