Re: Elsevier plus LexusNexis: profits up for 2008, to over $1.5 billion U.S.

[Sandy Thatcher <sgt3@psu.edu>]

Uh, without making apologies for Elsevier, I'm wondering why 
anyone would suggest that Elsevier should just strive to "break 
even."  That is what university presses strive to do (and usually 
can't without subsidies), but a commercial business has 
responsibilities to shareholders. I'm sure they are quite happy 
with the results that Elsevier has reported, and I would be too 
if I owned Elsevier stock!

Sandy Thatcher
Penn State University Press


>**	with apologies for cross-posting	**
>
>Elsevier recently released early 2008 results:  profits are UP, 
>to over $1.5 billion U.S. for the Elsevier and LexisNexis 
>divisions alone.  This is not a typo - that's PROFIT, not 
>revenue.
>
>Profit margins are 33% for Elsevier and 26% for LexisNexis.
>
>Here are some ways to explain what that 33% Elsevier profit 
>means:
>
>Elsevier could reduce prices by one-third for all of their 
>customers around the world - with no other changes to business 
>practices - and still break even.
>
>Elsevier could reduce prices by twenty percent for of their 
>customers around the world - and still have an enviable profit 
>rate of 13%.
>
>For additional numbers and links, see: 
>http://poeticeconomics.blogspot.com/2009/02/elsevier-plus-lexisnexis-earned-more.html
>
>Any opinion expressed in this e-mail is that of the author 
>alone, and does not represent the opinion or policy of BC 
>Electronic Library Network or Simon Fraser University Library.
>
>Heather Morrison, MLIS
>The Imaginary Journal of Poetic Economics 
>http://poeticeconomics.blogspot.com