Enthusiast Magazines ‘Rock And Ice,’ ‘Climbing’ Merge (mediapost.com)

FY23 third quarter service performance scores covering April 1 through May 12, included: *First-Class Mail: 92.0% of First-Class Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, an increase of 1.0 percentage points from the fiscal second quarter. *Marketing Mail: 95.9% of Marketing Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, an increase of 1.3 percentage points from the fiscal second quarter. *Periodicals: 88.8% of Periodicals delivered on time against the USPS service standard, an increase of 2.3 percentage points from the fiscal second quarter.

Revenue at Scholastic rose 3% in the third quarter ended February 28, over the comparable period a year ago, from $336.2 million to $344.7 million. However, investments to improve the company’s profitability and one-time charges led to a net loss of $49.2 million in the most recent quarter, up from $15.4 million a year ago. Despite the higher loss, Scholastic chairman Dick Robinson said the company’s results were in line with expectations. He noted that Scholastic is upping its per-share earnings forecast for the fiscal year ending May 31.

Meredith, now the nation’s largest magazine publisher, will slash magazine frequency and circulation levels and close print titles if a proposed 40 percent hike in postal rates over the next five years takes hold, its chief executive Thomas Harty said. The Postal Regulatory Commission is proposing price hikes from 34 to 41 percent for second-class mail, known as periodicals class. A vote is expected this spring. “The proposed increased for the periodical class will require Meredith to pursue magazine closures, circulation cuts, issue frequency reductions, conversions to digital-only formats and alternate delivery for some magazine subscription copies,” Harty said in testimony submitted to the PRC. Click Read More below for additional information.