Bertelsmann’s group revenues from continuing operations declined by 1.1% in 2016, from 17.1 billion EUR to 17 billion EUR. The loss is primarily due to negative exchange rate effects, disposals, as well as declining organic revenues at Penguin Random House and Bertelsmann Printing Group. Despite start-up losses for digital and new businesses the operating EBITDA increased by 3.3% to 2.6 billion EUR during 2016.

Revenues at Penguin Random House declined by 9.6% from 3.7 billion EUR to 3.4 billion EUR, due to portfolio and exchange rate effects. The organic growth was -3.9 %, impacted by a decline in e-book revenues that was partly due to new sales conditions in the retail market.

During 2016 the newly formed Bertelsmann Education Group performed positively. The segment generated a revenue increase of 28.9% compared to 2015, with a total of 142 million EUR. Operating EBITDA fell to -17 million EUR from the acquisition in 2015 of HotChalk and Udacity.

PRH’s top sellers in 2016 were Paula Hawkins’s multimillion-selling novel The Girl on the Train and Jojo Moye’s Me Before You and After You.

According to publishersweekly.com