Bloomsbury set to beat full-year expectations
Sharecast – The London-listed firm attributed the likely results to a robust performance in its consumer division, mainly driven by the success of Sarah J. Maas’ 15 titles.
It said its global distribution of all of Maas’ books had resulted in remarkable growth in its backlist.
Meanwhile, the non-consumer division continued to perform as expected without deviation.
Bloomsbury (LON:) said several bestsellers in the latter half of the year contributed to its success within the consumer division.
They included Ghosts, the companion book to the BBC television series; Poppy Cooks: The Actually Delicious Air Fryer Cookbook by Poppy O’Toole; Pub Kitchen by Tom Kerridge; The House of Doors by Tan Twan Eng in the US; Harry Potter Wizarding Almanac, the official companion to J.K. Rowling’s books; We’re Going on a Sleigh Ride by Martha Mumford and Cherie Zamazing; and Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell.
It noted that Rundell’s fantasy novel had achieved a significant milestone by becoming the first children’s book to win the Waterstones Book of the Year award in six years.
“I am delighted to report a strong period of trading which is principally driven by the continued phenomenal demand for fantasy fiction,” said chief executive officer Nigel Newton.
“Bloomsbury has consistently built its success on the immense talent of our authors and the exceptional hard work of our teams who support them.”
The company said it would provide a further trading update on performance for the year ending 29 February in March.
At 0855 GMT, shares in Bloomsbury Publishing were up 7.86% at 455.19p.
Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.
