Record-breaking sales of the Fifty Shades Of Grey book trilogy have proved more important than The X Factor in holding up profits at German-owned media conglomerate Bertelsmann.
Books arm Random House today said that profits before exceptional items surge 76% to £275 million last year, with sales up 22% to £1.78 billion, thanks in large part to EL James’s hit trilogy.
The London author sold 70 million print, audio, and e-book editions of Fifty Shades between March and December in English, German and Spanish editions, making it Random House’s best-selling book series ever.
In contrast, TV division RTL, which makes the X Factor and Got Talent series around the world, saw profits drop by 5% to £932 million, with sales only 3.2% ahead at £5.09 billion.
Analysts have said that the extraordinary success of Fifty Shades, which hit rival publishers’ sales last year, is a one-off and the rise of the internet and e-books continues to put pressure on the books trade.
Random House agreed last year to merge with Penguin, owned by Britain’s Pearson, in a bid to improve scale and cut costs.
Bertelsmann posted annual profits down slightly on a pre-tax basis to €1.01 billion (£855 million) against €1.03 billion a year earlier.
