One of the oldest publishing houses in Nigeria, Academy Press Plc, recorded an increase in market share in the first quarter ending in June 2024, rising from 68.94% in Q1 2023 to 86.81%. In the interim, Learn Africa Plc and University Press Plc, its rivals, saw a sharp decrease in their market shares. The rise of e-books and online platforms has affected conventional participants in the Nigerian publishing industry, which is facing increased competition from emerging businesses using digital tactics. Academy Press reported an after-tax profit of ₦519 million, with a good profit margin of 28.05%, despite economic headwinds as increased Manufacturing costs and inflation.
Learn Africa and University Press, on the other hand, suffered losses that resulted in negative profit margins of -164% and -105%, respectively. From ₦2.8 billion in 2023 to ₦2.13 billion in H1 2024, the aggregate Revenue of Nigeria’s three largest publishing houses decreased. While Academy Press increased its working capital to ₦661 million, the industry’s working capital also decreased. A declining currency, inflation, and uncertainty about the state of the world Economy have all had an impact on Nigeria’s publishing industry.
There is less of a need for traditional materials & actual textbooks.
Nigeria spent ₦573.1 billion on paper imports in 2023, demonstrating how the country’s excessive reliance on imported paper has hurt domestic businesses. The three main publishers reported negative net cash from core business activities by June 2024, indicating a decline in the industry’s cash flow from operations. Because they provide customers with more accessible, economical, and convenient options than printed books, e-books and online learning platforms are drastically upending the old publishing firms’ revenue streams. For example, the elimination of printing, shipping, and storage costs for e-books enables digital publishers to offer lower prices and appeal to tech-savvy consumers, particularly younger generations.
Online learning platforms and e-books are now more widely available in Nigeria, where internet penetration has increased to over 46% as of 2023. There is less of a need for traditional educational materials and actual textbooks due to platforms like Coursera, Udemy, and local efforts like uLesson and ScholarX, which offer educational information at reduced prices. For publishers who depend significantly on print media, this change is hastening their revenue erosion, especially in the academic and educational domains. Globally speaking, publishers in developing nations like Brazil and India face comparable difficulties, but many have adapted to the digital transition with success.
Investments in digital platforms will provide interactive resources.
With projected yearly digital book sales of $404 million in 2023, e-books in India constitute a significant portion of the publishing industry. Indian publishers, including Westland and Penguin Random House India, have embraced hybrid publishing approaches, fusing digital and print media to reach a larger audience. In Brazil, publishers such as Grupo Companhia das Letras have expanded their digital presence by collaborating with online platforms and releasing e-books of their well-known titles. These moves are motivated by the country’s high manufacturing costs and inflation. With the use of these tactics, they have been able to save expenses while reaching new audiences.
Nigerian publishers should make investments in creating digital platforms that provide e-books, audiobooks, and interactive learning resources, or they could collaborate with digital platforms to meet this transition towards digital media. For a monthly charge, customers can access enormous libraries of digital information through subscription models like Scribd and Kindle Unlimited, which have shown to be profitable worldwide. Novels, non-fiction, and textbooks might all be put together under formats that Nigerian publishers could investigate. A workable alternative is to encourage local manufacture of paper to lessen dependency on imported paper.
Publishers could pursue allied industries like digital education services.
In order to help the printing industry save costs of manufacturing, the Nigerian government might implement laws that encourage the opening of regional paper mills. Publishers could pursue allied industries like digital Education services or content development for corporate clients in addition to printed books. Publication houses and the government can collaborate to put laws into place that support and safeguard local printing. Nigerian publishers can overcome the difficulties of expensive production costs and imported materials while maintaining their competitiveness in an increasingly digital environment by adopting these tactics and making use of digital platforms.