Publisher Bloomsbury hails ‘good’ performance as sales lift 9%

Publisher Bloomsbury has revealed that sales jumped over the past four months as it maintained strong momentum from last year.

The Harry Potter publisher saw shares rise on Tuesday after it told investors that recent trading was in line with expectations.

Bloomsbury cheered a “good performance” over the four months to June 30, with sales up 9% year on year, in an update ahead of the firm’s annual general meeting.

It said JK Rowling’s Harry Potter series continued to be among its bestsellers over the period.

The company also highlighted strong sales of The Earth Transformed by Peter Frankopan, Trespasses by Louise Kennedy, A Day Of Fallen Night and The Priory Of The Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon, and fantasy novels by Sarah J Maas.

Meanwhile, it highlighted that its non-consumer operation was boosted by the continued shift towards digital learning, which drove growth in its Bloomsbury Digital Resources division.

Bosses at the company said they remain “confident in Bloomsbury’s ability to continue to deliver long-term success, with significant financial resources available to invest in organic growth and further company acquisitions.

“Global diversification across channels and markets continues to serve us well and further underpins our positive outlook.”

Investec analyst Alistair Reid said: “Bloomsbury’s operational performance continues to be a compelling story of excellent delivery.

“The AGM trading update today continues the strong momentum seen in recent times, and this is unsurprising given the virtuous flywheel effect in place, with strong revenue and profit growth leading to cash generation that underpins future growth.”

The publishing firm will reveal its results for the six months to August on October 26.