Scholastic to cut jobs in fiscal 2009, offers view
NEW YORK—Educational publishing company Scholastic Corp. on Thursday it plans to reduce costs by $25 million to $35 million through job cuts and other measures in fiscal 2009, and offered earnings guidance for the year.
The company expects earnings from continued operations of $1.75 to $2.10 per share, on revenue from continuing operations of $2 billion to $2.1 billion. The company's outlook reflects an expected 11 cents per share in severance charges, but Scholastic said additional severance charges may be necessary.
Analysts polled by Thomson Financial predict a profit of $2.14 per share on revenue of $2.06 billion.
Cost savings will be partly offset by higher paper, printing, shipping and fuel prices, the New York-based company said.
"Historically, the children's book market has fared well during economic slowdowns," said Richard Robinson, Scholastic chairman, chief executive, and president, in a statement. "This factor, combined with Scholastic's competitive pricing and unique value proposition relative to competitors, gives us confidence that we can achieve modest revenue growth in the current climate."
