Hachette eBook Sales Soar, Print Declines For Parent Lagardere

Despite a 4.8% drop in 2010 revenue for Lagardère Publishing, the parent company that owns the Hachette Book Group, eBooks grew significantly. The U.S. leads the way in digital, and Hachette Book Group saw 138% growth in eBook revenues last year.

eBooks accounted for 8% of revenues in the United States, compared to 3% in 2009, and eBooks grew more modestly in the UK, making up 1% of 2010 sales.

Lagardère Publishing’s overall 2010 revenues came to about $2.9 million. The company attributed the decline to a drop off in Twilight series sales. While sales dropped off in France, because 2010 didn’t provide the company with hot titles like a new Asterix comic book and Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol (which sold 1.1 million copies in fourth-quarter 2009), sales grew in the UK thanks to bestsellers from authors including Martina Cole, Maeve Binchy, David Nicholls, and Keith Richards.

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