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.