Scholastic sales slip in first quarter but full-year outlook holds
Scholastic opened its new financial year with lower sales and a loss that held steady.
The organisation reported US$217 million in sales for the first quarter ended 31 August, down 4 per cent. Its operating loss, meaning the loss from core business before interest and tax, was US$92.2 million, even with the previous year, according to Publishers Marketplace.
That is the seasonally quiet quarter. Scholastic makes most of its money later in the school year.
The fall came from two places. Sales were lower in Education and in Children's Book Publishing and Distribution, the division that sells children's books. The company also lost rental income on its New York City office building.
Children's Book Publishing and Distribution posted US$105.8 million in sales, down 3 per cent. That is a drop of US$3.6 million from the same quarter last year, the company said in its quarterly statement.
The result looks different from a year ago. In fiscal first-quarter 2026, that same division grew 4 per cent to US$109.4 million. In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026, it fell 4 per cent to US$276.3 million.
Adjusted EBITDA also slipped. That is a profit measure that strips out interest, tax, depreciation and one-off items to show underlying trading. It fell 14 per cent to negative US$63.6 million. The quarter included a one-time charge of US$3.5 million.
What makes this stand out is what did not change. Scholastic affirmed its full-year outlook for fiscal 2027. It still expects revenue growth of approximately 2 per cent to 4 per cent.
The numbers followed a set timetable. Scholastic said on 3 September it would release first-quarter results on Thursday, 24 September at 4:00 PM ET. The results were then published on 24 September.
