Penguin Random House outperformed within Bertelsmann in 2024, according to the German media group’s annual financial report. Sales rose €4.9bn in 2024, up from €4.5bn in 2023, as parent company Bertelsmann generated group revenue of €19bn, in the financial year 2024, recording organic growth of more than 3%.
According to the Bertelsmann Annual Report 2024, revenue at the publishing business was driven by “strong backlist performance and portfolio effects due to acquisition activities [which] had a positive impact on revenue”. The report also referenced earnings growth due to both revenue and savings being achieved through the reorganisation of the US business. It was the best peformer within the wider group, outside of its investments business.
The success at PRH was also due to higher sales prices, “a broad range of titles across all genres and growth in audiobook sales”. Revenues in 2024 were up 8.5% from the previous year, with operating EBITDA adjusted amounted to €739 million, up from €664 million the previous year.
Overall, PRH US outperformed the overall market in 2024, increasing its market share to 23.8%, up from 22.9% the previous year. Penguin Random House UK saw a rise in its revenues in 2024, largely driven by an increase in audiobook sales and the acquisition of the food and lifestyle publisher Quadrille.
According to the report, the growth of PRH was “driven by strategic investments in content, audience expansion and operational enhancements”. The report referenced several partnerships, including a collaboration with Sourcebooks’ US Bloom imprint, which led to the launch of Bloom Germany (Penguin Random House Verlagsgruppe) and Bloom Brazil (Companhia das Letras). Bertlesmann also “continued to invest in the expansion of its global content businesses”, with PRH acquiring the independent US book publisher Hay House, a publisher in the self-help, health and wellness sectors, and further increased its stake in Sourcebooks.
PRH’s partnership with BBC Studios expanded he reach of the TV series Bluey to be included in children’s books worldwide, including the integration of the Bluey IP into the PRH Verlagsgruppe’s cbj imprint. Penguin Random House US established an operational hub in Grantham, England – taking over the existing distribution centre.
The report also referenced PRH’s development of generative AI applications “to enhance publishing operations”, however they empahasised “protecting the copyrights and intellectual property rights of its authors”. Innovations include Orion, a speech-to-text proofing app for PRH Audio.
Among the year’s biggest bestsellers were Funny Story by Emily Henry and First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston. Continuing their stellar performance from previous years, Atomic Habits by James Clear and Taylor Swift: A Little Golden Book Biography by Wendy Loggia ranked again as top bestselling titles.
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