Meyer Boosts Hachette
by Jim Milliot -- Publishers Weekly, 2/13/2009

In another indication of just how much better Hachette Book Group USA performed in 2008 compared to its major competitors, parent company Lagardère noted in its announcement of results for the year that sales in its U.S. subsidiary accelerated at the end of the year, while most publishers reported that business in the fourth quarter slowed considerably. Hachette’s success was due, of course, to Stephenie Meyer, whose Twilight series sold eight million copies in December and 28 million copies overall. Augmenting Meyer’s strength in the U.S. was The Shack.

For its entire book publishing operation, Lagardère said revenue rose 1.4% in 2008, to 2.16 billion euros ($2.77 billion); without the negative impact of exchange rates, sales were up 4.7%.

Outside of the U.S., sales were generally soft, including the U.K., where sales were down as the loss of James Patterson was not offset by sales of Twilight titles.

In France, sales of illustrated books rose, but revenue in the educational sector was down.