Scholastic stock sinks 12% after publisher's quarterly loss widens, outlook lowered

Shares of Scholastic Corp. (SCHL) dropped 12% in the extended session Thursday after the children's publishing, education and media company reported a wider quarterly loss, saying its education business suffered as school districts continue to manage staff shortages and retail demand for children's books softened. Scholastic also dialed down its outlook for the year. The company lost $19.3 million, or 57 cents a share, in the fiscal third quarter, compared with a loss of $15.3 million, or 44 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter. Revenue dropped to $325 million, from $345 million a year ago. "Scholastic navigated short-term headwinds in domestic and international markets, which contributed to modest sales declines and higher losses in our seasonally small third quarter," Chief Executive Peter Warwick said in a statement. The "tougher market conditions" are expected to continue into the fiscal fourth quarter, the company said. Scholastic guided for a fiscal 2023 adjusted EBITDA of $175 million to $185 million, compared with a previous expectation of $195 million to $205 million. Full-year revenue is expected to grow about 4%, compared with a previous range of 8% to 10%. Shares of Scholastic ended the regular trading day down 2.2%.

-Claudia Assis

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03-23-23 1633ET

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