Bloomsbury posts record numbers

Bloomsbury Publishing posted its highest ever sales on Wednesday after the pandemic prompted a surge in reading.

The Harry Potter publisher said revenues for the year to 28 February rose 24% to £230.1m, while pre-tax profits before one-off costs improved 40% to £26.7m. Year-on-two-years, sales were ahead 41% and profits 70%.

Pre-tax profits were £22.2m, up 28% year-on-year.

Within that, the consumer division saw revenues rise 25% to £148.2m, while the non-consumer unit - which includes academic and professional publishing - reported a 23% jump to £81.9m.

Among its stable of authors, sales of books by popular fantasy writer Sarah J Maas surged 86%, while JK Rowling’s Harry Potter series saw sales rise 5%. The first Harry Potter novel was published 25 years ago.

Nigel Newton, chief executive, said the results were Bloomsbury's highest ever.

He continued: "The question on all of our minds was: would the pandemic surge in reading continue? We now know the answer - reading has become a required habit and continue to thrive.

"The pandemic made us re-evaluate how we spend our time and this has resulted in an increase in sales of books that enable us to explore our hobbies and personal interests, such as cooking, fitness, history and reading novels.

"Trading for 2022/23 has started in line with the board’s expectations. Bloomsbury plants to invest robustly in continued organic growth and further acquisitions based on our strong financial provision and proven strategy."

As at 1000 BST, shares in the publisher were ahead 3% at 390.5p. Bloomsbury has proposed a final dividend of 9.4p per share, an increase of 24%.