Bloomsbury reports record year of revenue and profit

In the UK, Bloomsbury has reported its highest revenue and profit in its 37-year history, reports the Bookseller, which also said sales of titles by Bloomsbury author Sarah J Maas were up 161%.

The company reported revenue of £343 million (A$658m) for the year ended 29 February, up 30% from £264 million ($A507m) in 2022/23, with consumer revenue up 49% and profit up 57% in the same period, with the latter reaching £49 million (A$94m), up from £31 million (A$59m) the previous year.

Chief executive Nigel Newton said the company’s ‘dramatic increase’ in revenue and profit ‘arises from our entrepreneurial diversification strategy, which has forged a portfolio of portfolios combining consumer and academic publishing across formats, territories and subject areas, a resilient model delivering long-term success’.

Newton said Maas’s books had ‘captivated a huge audience, supported by major Bloomsbury promotional campaigns, driving strong word-of-mouth recommendation, particularly through social media channels’. Newton also cited the contribution of titles by Katherine Rundell and Samantha Shannon and acknowledged the continued strong sales of Harry Potter titles.

According to Newton, the Bloomsbury Digital Resources division had increased sales to £27 million (A$52m) and ‘remains on course’ to achieve its target of around £37 million (A$71m) turnover in 2027/28. While Bloomsbury’s non-consumer sales were down 4% to £93.4 million (A$179.2m), Newton said the publisher was well placed ‘to capitalise on the continued structural shift to digital learning and is confident in the long-term growth opportunities of the non-consumer division given the significant growth projections for higher education’.

Bloomsbury said it was not expecting to publish a new Sarah J Maas title in the year ending 28 February 2025.

In related news, Bloomsbury chair Richard Lambert has given notice of his intention to retire from the role and step down as director of the company, with effect from 16 July. John Bason, the current independent non-executive director, will succeed him as chair, subject to re-election as a director.

Category: International news