Page-turners turning nice profit

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This article was published 25/01/2019 (2691 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Reports of the printed book’s death have been greatly exaggerated and book printer Friesens Corp. in Altona is now reaping the rewards.

Friesens Corporation posted the highest sales in its history in 2018, surpassing the previous record set 20 years ago. Sales topped $90 million, the company said in its annual report released this week.

“Books are alive and well,” said CEO Chad Friesen. “Contrary to dire predictions that were made 10 years ago, people continue to buy printed books.”

In the past three years, the number of physical books sold in North America has grown from two to four per cent per year, Friesen said. Meanwhile, e-books peaked at 20 per cent of the market two years ago and are now losing market share.

“The sale of e-books has dropped significantly. People have a strong affinity to the printed page,” Friesen said.

“In a world dominated by screen-time, people see books as an enjoyable relief from a digital onslaught of information.”

Friesens posted healthy growth across all four of its divisions. They are its book division, yearbooks, packaging and self-publishing. The employee-owned company’s solid performance also resulted in a healthy $2-million dividend to be shared among employees.

The company added 16 more staff in 2018 to bring its total to about 600, the majority of whom live within a 30-kilometre radius of Altona. The CEO said that may sound like a small increase, but it happens at a time when the company is becoming increasingly automated and eliminating some jobs.

Friesens made its most significant reinvestment in many years in 2018, spending $9 million on new equipment purchases, including presses, binding equipment and packaging equipment.

One purchase was of the High-Speed Manroland, 700 Evolution press, with LED printing technology with instantly drying ink. About $8.5 million was spent on new presses for its hardcover book division.

The company plans to reinvest “north of $10 million” in 2019, Friesen said.

“We’re feeling bullish about all our businesses and so we’re changing our tact on capital investments. We’re seeing an opportunity to take advantage of good market trends.”

The turnaround for Friesens is a major accomplishment after sales plunged 30 per cent to $65 million in 2008, due to competition from e-books and the recession of 2008.

With many book publishers exiting the business or not reinvesting over the past decade, Friesens has found itself well positioned to take advantage of the new market growth. “It’s ideal for companies like Friesens that were able to weather the storm,” he said.

As well, the heightened political debate south of the border has spurred tremendous growth in political books from all sides of the spectrum, he said. That’s also been good for Friesens. More than 50 per cent of its sales are to the U.S.

“That’s given a significant lift to the market,” Friesen said.

Its packaging division is also growing and self-publishing is growing significantly, he said.

Those divisions started in 2009. Its specialized packaging, a division called think4D, uses patented thermoforming technology to make decorative packaging that can not only be contoured but gives texture.

Friesens’ biggest selling books last year were international bestseller Strengths Finder by Tom Rath; Wonder by R. J. Palacio, which has sold six million copies since its release in 2012; and Point of It All, a collection of works by the late Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Charles Krauthammer.

bill.redekop@freepress.mb.ca