Abacus is considering buying more publishing imprints and has a film about Carlos Mazón in development.

BarcelonaAbacus has put an end to the business transformation that began three years agoAnd it has done so with a record turnover of €143 million in 2025 and an EBITDA of €6.8 million. During this period, the cooperative has increased its turnover by 50% and diversified its business lines. Besides bookstores (which account for 63.9% of turnover) and services in schools (which represent 21.2%), Abacus incorporated in 2024 the editorial seals of Grup Enciclopèdia and those of Jaume Roures (representing 6.3%) under the name Abacus Futur. It also has a branch dedicated to magazines and audiovisual content, Abacus Mèdia (totaling 8.6%). "With Abacus Futur, we've brought together three publishing businesses that came from different places. The process has been complex and ambitious, but we're happy and anticipate a very good Sant Jordi's Day for us," says Abacus's CEO, Oriol Soler, who has indicated that he is negotiating further acquisitions in the publishing sector. In the bookstore sector, the cooperative manages 44 stores in the Catalan Countries, supplies books and toys to 60 Estallidos (a local bookstore chain), sells materials to schools, and owns 51% of Llibreria 22 in Girona. Overall, it holds a 13% market share in Catalonia. Looking ahead, the company has no plans to open new stores, but it does intend to gradually acquire ownership of the premises it already operates. The challenges in this branch of the business are, above all, to grow in terms of e-commerce and close the gap with its main competitors, Amazon and La Casa del Libro. "This year we've had a turnover of 10 million euros. We should be at 20 or 30 million; there's still room for growth," says Soler. Within this line of business, Abacus has initiated a collaborative project with independent bookstoresto guarantee its survival. The first was Librería 22 in Girona, of which it acquired 51% ownership. Through this establishment, the cooperative has also begun to support the Quart Creixent bookstore in Palma.

Growing audiovisual production

The creation of audiovisual content is one of the other areas the cooperative wants to develop. Currently, they are producing the program The trial, which will be presented by José Luis Sastre and will be broadcast in the time slot of prime time on Spanish Television. Abacus Futur's producer and president, Jaume Roures, also has a film about Carlos Mazón in the works, which will premiere no sooner than next year. "We have an 8 million euro production company. We need to take a step forward and incorporate bigger projects," says Soler. Regarding educational services, in recent years Abacus has focused on educational robotics—having won 14 million euros in tenders in this area—and on promoting school libraries. "There's a widespread feeling that something needs to change in the educational field. Abacus is very well positioned to be useful in this regard," says Soler. Internally, the cooperative will undergo some changes in the coming months. The current president, Maravillas Rojo, will finish her term; the cooperative has now begun the electoral process, and the assembly to decide on her replacement will take place in June.