Earlier today, Scholastic reported significant revenue and earnings growth for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended May 31, 2012. The Company also outlined its fiscal 2013 plan to continue investing in key long-term growth initiatives, including ebooks and educational technology, and to sustain operating improvements and strong free cash flow. You can read the complete press release here.

An excerpt: “Scholastic had a great fiscal 2012, with good results across the Company, bolstered by the remarkable success of The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins’ bestselling trilogy, which demonstrated again the broad appeal of a superb story, well marketed and sold,” commented Richard Robinson, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. “The Children’s Book segment performed well overall, with multiple bestsellers in Trade and solid performance in Book Fairs also contributing growth. Additionally, we introduced Storia™, our children’s ereading app and ebook system, which has received high praise from teachers, parents and technology reviewers. In Educational Technology and Services, the successful release of READ 180® Next Generation drove significantly higher profits and further strengthened our market-leading franchise. Strong operating performance, combined with cost savings and working capital management, drove substantial free cash flow, and we ended the year with an even more robust balance sheet.”

And: “While we will not repeat our record earnings from fiscal 2012, Scholastic’s goal for fiscal 2013 is to sustain last year’s momentum, while continuing to invest in key growth opportunities which will benefit fiscal 2014 and beyond,” Mr. Robinson added. “In particular, we are excited to continue the broader roll out of Storia to teachers and parents this fall, utilizing our school channels and access to quality content. Building on the success of READ 180, we are preparing to launch major new educational technology products in fiscal 2014 that will help educators as they prepare students to meet the demands of the new Common Core State Standards. These include MATH 180™, a groundbreaking, research-based math intervention program; iREAD™, a new primary grade literacy program developed with top experts in the field; and a major next generation release of System 44®, our foundational reading and phonics program which is a prequel to READ 180.”

You can read the complete press release here.