- Bloomsbury Publishing expects its full-year earnings to be well above forecasts
- The London-based company’s share price jumped more than 8% this morning.
Bloomsbury Publishing expects full-year profits to be well above forecasts as the group is supported by strong demand for fantasy novels and academic digital resources.
The London publisher, best known for purchasing JK Rowling’s Harry Potter series in 1997 after being rejected by a dozen others, has said it expects pre-tax profits for the year ending February 28 to be around £30m. , contrary to analysts’ forecasts. around £26.9 million.
“In a year that has been characterized by rising inflation and rising costs of living, it is remarkable that reading remains hugely popular around the world, with books seen by many readers as an affordable pastime,” said Nigel Newton, chief executive.
Blissful: Bloomsbury Publishing expects its full-year earnings to far exceed forecasts
Samantha Shannon’s political fantasy novel Day of the Fallen Night became an instant global bestseller upon its release in February, while American author Sarah J. Maas continued to sell well, the company said.
The group expects its annual revenue to be over £260m compared to analysts’ forecasts of around £242.6m after strong trading at the end of the year.
Bloomsbury shares rose sharply today and rose 8.45% or 35.50 pence to 455.50 pence in early morning trading, up more than a quarter last year.
Newton said: “We are seeing strong demand for our titles—in print, e-books and audio—and continued digital growth.
“Two of our strongest results this year came from the very different strands of our publishing strategy – fantasy novels on the one hand and academic digital assets on the other – showing how well our balanced consumer and academic portfolio works in practice.” .
Other bestsellers include The Stolen Focus by Johan Hari and Baking by Paul Hollywood.
Bloomsbury also posted strong growth in its non-consumer business, Bloomsbury Digital Resources, as a result of acquisition of ABC-CLIO and continued organic growth.
In October, the group reported its highest sales and profits for the first half of the year.
In the six months to the end of August, the company’s pre-tax profit and acquisition and restructuring costs rose 23% to £15.9m, while revenue rose 22% to £122.9m.
Fiona Orford-Williams, director of the Edison Group, said: “Bloomsbury has clearly made very good progress in establishing itself as a key supplier to the academic markets in the US and has significant potential for further expansion.
“It’s also encouraging to see that they have maintained their relationship with author Sarah J. Maas in the consumer products department, signing on to four more titles.”
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