Hachette has reported strong growth at its English-language businesses, with sales in its first half up 8.4% in the UK thanks to “notable success” from publishing divisions Little, Brown, Hodder & Stoughton and Bookouture, and up by 7.7% in the US, with growth at Hachette Audio highlighted by parent group Lagardère.

This represents an accelerated return at Hachette UK, with sales in first quarter up 4.8%, with David Shelley, chief executive of Hachette UK and Hachette Book Group in the US, pointing to its more than 300 Sunday Times bestsellers, and describing it as “fantastic growth” for the UK business.

Overall revenue for Lagardère Publishing totalled €1.3bn in first-half 2024, up 5% on a reported basis and up 4.5% like-for-like. This led to a doubling of profit, from €65m in 2023, to €113m this year. The UK was the fastest growing unit, with sales in France down 0.7%. Arnaud Lagardère, the recently returned chairman and chief executive, said: “Lagardère Publishing achieved record-high recurring EBIT—up by €48m—lifted especially by remarkable performances in the United States and the United Kingdom.”

UK growth came despite a “slightly declining market”, the group said, with dynamic backlist sales in the first half of the year, with Ana Huang’s successful Twisted and Kings of Sin sagas, The Housemaid series by Freida McFadden, and The Empyrean series (Fourth Wing and Iron Flame) by Rebecca Yarros, as well as the audio sales of Matthew Perry’s autobiography. It also pointed to a “vibrant release schedule”, including new titles from Stephen King and David Nicholls, with its international business, especially Australia, boosted by the same successful titles.

In the US, business grew by a “sharp 7.7%”, driven notably by the publishing schedule at Little, Brown, including James Patterson’s Eruption. “The segment was also lifted by growth at the Hachette Audio unit, on the back of a strong performance in digital format, as well as by good backlist sales at Orbit and Little, Brown Books for Young Readers,” Lagardère added.

Shelley said of the UK business: “The first half of 2024 has seen fantastic growth for Hachette UK, with revenue up 8.4% on the same period in 2023, and with particularly notable success from Little, Brown, Hodder & Stoughton, and Bookouture. 

“Our UK market share grew from 13.4% in 2023 to 14% year to date—our highest for over a decade, and since the Stephenie Meyer years. We also announced our partnership with Bloomsbury to provide distribution services from 2025 onwards—a significant and exciting moment for us, underpinning our commitment to providing the best service in the book distribution business.”

Shelley pointed to its 303 Sunday Times bestsellers, with “excellent sales” for titles including: You Are Here by Nicholls (Hodder & Stoughton), as well as One Day, 15 years after it was first published; The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley (Hodder); The Housemaid series by Freida McFadden (Bookouture); So Good by Emily English (Orion); Twisted Love by Ana Huang (Little, Brown); You Like it Darker by Stephen King (Hodder & Stoughton); Fourth Wing and Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros (Little, Brown); and the paperback of Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry (Headline). 

He added that Hodder Education continued to grow market share, while the group was on track to achieve its 2030 sustainability targets, which have recently been validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). For the sixth year running, Shelley said, the business had welcomed eight entry-level trainees from underrepresented groups, as well as an additional two more experienced candidates into mid-level trainee roles, who are either returning to work after a career break or looking for a change in career.