Yahoo Finance Harry Potter publisher Bloomsbury upgrades expectations once again as readers devour fantasy fiction
Harry Potter publisher Bloomsbury has forecast its full-year pre-tax profits to be “significantly ahead” of market expectations, as demand for its books has surpassed projections. It’s the second time in three months the company has upgraded projections.
The London-listed publisher, whose shares have soared nearly 118 per cent in the past five years, previously predicted revenue of £291.4m and profit before tax of £37.2m for the year ending February 2024.
On Wednesday, Investec increased its profit before tax guidance by 31 per cent to £48.1m, with revenue up 13 per cent to £329.3m.
Shares jumped over nine per cent on Wednesday morning.
“The unparalleled success of Bloomsbury’s portfolio continues,” said Investec analyst Alastair Reid.
“The cash generation of previous periods has underpinned ongoing investment to support content that should deliver further profitable growth in the years to come – sustaining the virtuous flywheel at the heart of the business,” he added.
Bloomsbury said its consumer division was mainly responsible for the upgrade, largely thanks to the recent publication of Sarah J. Maas’s novel, ‘House of Flame and Shadow’, which has hit number one in several markets including the UK, US and Australia.
Maas is a “publishing phenomenon” said the publisher’s chief executive Nigel Newton.
“We are very fortunate to have signed her up with her first book 13 years ago. Her books have a huge audience which continues to grow backed by major Bloomsbury promotional campaigns, driving strong word of mouth recommendation, particularly through TikTok and Instagram channels.”
Bloomsbury is ramping up investment into fantasy fiction as it sees surging demand for novels like Maas’s and JK Rowling’s latest addition to the Harry Potter series, titled ‘The Harry Potter Wizarding Almanac’.
“The fantasy genre is thriving in the book world and Bloomsbury is well placed to benefit as consumers seek to bury themselves into a novel so they are transported to a different world,” said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.
“The sign of a clever publisher is recognising talent early on and signing up authors who go on to produce a rich library of books. Bloomsbury has dined out on JK Rowling’s Harry Potter series for a long time yet success with other titles shows it is not a one trick pony,” he added.
Other popular titles include ‘The House of Doors’ by Tan Twan Eng in the US and ‘Impossible Creatures’ by Katherine Rundell, which was a UK bestseller.
Last year, the market had been expecting the company to report revenue of £274.2m and profit before tax of £32.9m for the 2023 financial year.
Recent research from the Publishers Association found that Booktok, a social media trend that has risen on Tiktok, has got Gen-Z turning an increasing amount of pages.
In the poll of over 2,000 16 to 25-year-olds, 59 per cent said that Booktok or book influencers had helped them discover a passion for reading, with over half turning to it for recommendations.
