Bloomsbury reaffirms outlook after full-year profits jump

(Sharecast News) - Bloomsbury Publishing posted improved annual profits on Wednesday, supported by a rebound in its academic and professional arm. The Harry Potter publisher saw pre-tax profits before one-off items rise 7% in the year to 28 February to £44.9m, despite group revenues softening to £325.9m from £361m, although that was marginally above forecast.

In its consumer division - which as well as JK Rowling is home to bestselling fantasy author Sarah J Maas and popular children's writer Katherine Rundell - profits fell to £20.5m from £30.3m, weighed down by tough comparatives.

In academic and publishing, however, profits doubled to £25m, supported by AI licensing, after the company signed its first non-exclusive agreement.

Founder and chief executive Nigel Newton said the division had seen growth in print, digital and rights revenues in the second half, which was poised to continue. "We see encouraging signs of recovery, with good growth in all territories in the current year," he noted.

Newton also flagged a strong pipeline of releases in the consumer division this year, while the launch of a new Harry Potter television series on HBO Max at Christmas was expected to bring a "dramatically expanded" readership to the popular series.

Newton concluded: "The board looks to the current year with strong confidence in delivering results in line with these recently upgraded expectations."

As 1115 BST, the stock was up 1% at 607.03p.

Berenberg, which has a 'buy' rating the publisher, said: "Bloomsbury trades on a 2027 full-year P/E of 13.5x, which compares against a 10-year historical average of around 15x.

"We think this valuation is attractive in the context of the upcoming pipeline, with two new books from Sarah J Maas and other releases from bestselling authors, as well as potential for further upside consensus from more high-margin AI licensing deals."

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