Report of the Press Syndicate for the year ended 30 April 2007
The PRESS SYNDICATE beg leave to report to the Council
as follows:
In 2005–06, the Press changed its year end from 31
December to 30 April, thereby creating a sixteen-month
reporting period. The present accounting period, which
ended on 30 April 2007, covers a twelve-month period,
which means that there cannot be an easy comparison
with the previous year’s business. However, future years
will all be on a twelve-month basis. In view of the above,
the Press Syndicate recommend that interested readers
consult the full report and accounts which are posted
on the Press website at http://www.cambridge.org/about/annualreport/. Printed editions have been
distributed to all subscribers to the Reporter.
An Executive Summary of the Annual Report
follows:
Executive Summary
- The Press achieved record sales of £160.5m.
Sales grew by a market-leading 12% during the
past year (and almost 25% in two years). All of
this was in spite of the significant deterioration
in the dollar.
- Driven by increased sales volumes and improved
business management, the Press returned a net
surplus of £3.2m after transfers to the
University.
- Academic products performed especially
strongly, with monograph output continuing
unabated and important new revenue streams
being generated from digital products.
- The Journals group’s 213 titles performed well,
fuelled by strong consortia demand for digital
packages.
- English Language courses are now reaping the
rewards of investment since the turn of the
century, capturing market share from our
competitors and enjoying the opportunities
presented by a growing demand for English.
- Educational publishing experienced a welcome
resurgence, led by outstanding performances in
South Africa and Australia.
- The Printing businesses achieved their first
surplus in seven years, bucking the trend of
decline and collapse elsewhere in the UK
printing industry.
- Both printers and publishers in Cambridge
agreed new pension terms which will limit the
Press’s exposure in volatile investment markets,
thereby materially helping to ensure the longterm
well-being of the Press and of the pension
funds.
- Cambridge University Press India performed
above expectations in its first year in the
Cambridge family. The family was expanded
further by the acquisition of the Global Grid for
Learning and, shortly after the year-end, of our
long-standing Japanese distributor, United
Publishers Service Limited.
| G. JOHNSON (Chairman) | G. P. HAWTHORN | A. M. LONSDALE |
| R.G. BARKER | B. J. HEAL | D. J.MCKITTERICK |
| C. Y. BARLOW | C. J. HUMPHREYS | J. S.MORRILL |
| W. A. BROWN | D. J. IBBETSON | A. M. REID |
| T. M. COX | T.W. KÖRNER | |
| U. C. GOSWAMI | M. S. LANE | |
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