JK Rowling’s digital publishing firm Pottermore to conjure up some first-time profit

Pottermore, JK Rowling’s digital publishing company, expects to turn a profit in its current fiscal year, buoyed by rising sales of audio books and new ebooks that build on the nearly 20-year-old Harry Potter franchise, the company has said.

Launched as a fan community site in 2012, Pottermore has evolved from a self-publishing site for one of the world’s most popular authors into a firm that sells increasing volumes of ebooks and audio books via partnerships with online retailers.

Recognising the pitfalls of a purely go-it-alone, direct-to-fans approach, Pottermore revamped its strategy in 2015 to also sell through Amazon.com, Apple, Amazon’s audio book unit Audible, Barnes & Noble, Google, and Rakuten-owned ebook publisher Kobo.