Business
Scholastic Reports Fiscal 2023 Second Quarter Results
Revenues Up 12% Over Prior Period, Driving Higher Results Stock Repurchase Authorization Increased to $75 million NEW YORK, Dec. 15, 2022 /PRNewswire/ --
About this update from Scholastic Corporation
[{"type":"text","content":"Revenues Up 12% Over Prior Period, Driving Higher Results\nStock Repurchase Authorization Increased to $75 million\nNEW YORK, Dec. 15, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Scholastic Corporation (NASDAQ: SCHL), the global children's publishing, education and media company, today reported financial results for the Company's fiscal second quarter ended November 30, 2022.\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \nPeter Warwick, President and Chief Executive Officer, said, \"Scholastic delivered strong revenue growth and higher earnings in the second quarter. Our Children's Books business performed strongly, benefiting from robust sales in our unique school-based channels, as well as multiple best sellers and our broad backlist. In Education Solutions, sales of print and digital educational products to schools, districts and states held steady at last year's record levels, as we continued investing in the long-term potential of this key growth opportunity, building go-to-market capabilities and developing our comprehensive digital literacy platform.\n\"Based on our momentum in the first half of the year and expectations for a strong fourth quarter, following a seasonally smaller third quarter, we are affirming our fiscal 2023 guidance, as we continue navigating the current business environment. At the same time, we are focused on realizing Scholastic's long-term opportunity to grow our impact, earnings and shareholder value. \n\"Scholastic's significantly improved margins compared to pre-pandemic levels and strong free cash flow outlook open new opportunities to deploy capital for strategic growth, while maintaining a strong balance sheet and returning excess capital to shareholders. Last quarter, the Company returned over $32.9 million to shareholders through an increased dividend, open market repurchases and a modified 'Dutch Auction' tender offer. Further demonstrating our Board's commitment to deploying capital, we continue to actively review major long-term growth investment opportunities and have significantly expanded the Company's open market repurchase program with an increased authorization now providing $75 million in availability.\"\nFiscal 2023 Q2 Review\nIn $ millions\nSecond Quarter\nChange\nFiscal 2023\nFiscal 2022\n$\n%\nRevenues\n$\n587.9\n$\n524.2\n$\n63.7\n12 %\nOperating income (loss)\n$\n100.1\n$\n83.4\n$\n16.7\n20 %\nEarnings (loss) before t...