Bloomsbury Publishing has reported record annual sales and profits, helped by readers who are choosing books as an affordable form of entertainment during the rising cost of living, according to its head.
The group, which publishes JK Rowling’s Harry Potter books and continues to see strong demand for the fantasy series, posted a 16 per cent rise in profit before tax and “highlighted items” of £31.1mn for the year to February 28. Sales rose 15 per cent to £264.1mn.
“In challenging economic times, readers are turning to books as affordable as they cut back on more expensive forms of diversion,” said chief executive Nigel Newton.
Shares were up 0.5 per cent in early trading, Bloomsbury having flagged its upgraded expectations in March. The group proposed a 10 per cent increase to its final dividend.
Sales growth was boosted by the success of the series by fantasy author Sarah J Maas. Bloomsbury has contracts for seven new titles with the US writer, whose success is partly attributable to the BookTok social media trend on TikTok and whose sales grew 51 per cent in the year.
The company has published all 15 of Maas’s titles so far, including House of Sky and Breath, which was published last February and has become a best-selling title.
Bloomsbury said current consensus market expectations were for pre-tax profit of £32.2mn and revenue of £272.1mn in its current financial year to 2024.
International revenues now account for 73 per cent of the total, the highest proportion ever, with the US accounting for almost half.
The company’s digital academic resources business that provides ebooks to universities grew 41 per cent on the back of growing demand for online education resources.
“These results demonstrate the strength of our strategy to publish for both the consumer and the academic markets, unusual in our industry, and to grow digital revenues while expanding globally,” added Newton.
