With First Full Penguin Random House Annual Results, Dohle Says "We Are Stronger Together"

Bertelsmann reported financial results for 2014 on Tuesday morning, providing the first look at a full year's worth of performance for the merged Penguin Random House. (A year ago, the 2013 report incorporated only six months worth of Penguin's sales.) The trade publishing giant had combined sales of €3.324 billion for the year, including Random House Germany, which is still owned entirely by Bertelsmann outside of the PRH joint venture. Operating EBITDA rose in line with sales, to €452 million, "driven by numerous major bestsellers, especially in the field of children's books, as well as tie-ins to popular movies and TV series and the outstanding performance of its US division." Operating EBIT was €374 million, compared to €309 million a year ago. Among international divisions, their unit in Canada "dominated the 2014 national bestseller lists"; the UK "experienced a solid year despite a difficult market environment"; and RH Germany "recorded a stable year."

Penguin Random House ceo Markus Dohle wrote to staff, "In our first full year as Penguin Random House, you have made a powerful statement: We are stronger together." All US employees who are not already on a bonus or commission plan "will be rewarded on April 17 with a special payment of $750." Dohle writes, "I strongly believe that every one of us should share in our success." He also celebrated that, "everything we accomplished together last year was done while making major achievements in our integration in every territory. The seamless systems cutovers and distribution-center transfers in the United States this past winter will be a blueprint for our successful integration around the world." (In 2012, Random House US shared the Fifty Shades bounty with bonuses of $5,000 per employee.)

As parent company Bertelsmann notes, any apparent rise in publishing revenues was "primarily due to portfolio effects," however: The acquisition of Santillana in the second half of the year, and the full integration of Penguin revenues. The company did "also generate higher organic revenues as a result of successful new releases, particularly in the United States." Dohle writes that "last year we published more than 15,000 new titles, each one its own startup inspiring us to customize and enhance the ways we produced, promoted, and connected them with the widest possible audience." And Bertelsmann indicates that the company sold over 100 million ebook units worldwide during the year. (Note, however, that neither of these numbers is "new" in context; they also sold over 100 million ebooks last year, and since the merger 15,000 titles a year has been the announced output.)