UK publishing group boosts profits

British publisher Bloomsbury today posted a 4.5% hike in profits despite the lack of a new Harry Potter novel.

The London-based firm said a string of successful titles, including Susanna Clarke’s first novel Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, left it confident of a “satisfactory” outcome to the year.

Bloomsbury posted pre-tax profits of £3.72m (€5.44m), even though profit margins were lower due to the positive impact of schoolboy wizard Harry Potter on last year’s results.

However, the paperback edition of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix has sold very well since it was launched in July, the group said.

The company said it had a number of publishing successes in the six months to June 30, including Joanna Trollope’s new novel Brother & Sister and children’s title A Gathering Light, by author Jennifer Donnelly.

Chief executive Nigel Newton said Richard & Judy’s Book Club show had significantly boosted sales of Donnelly’s book, which was released earlier this year and won the prestigious Carnegie Medal award for children’s literature.

He said the Channel 4 book review show hosted by Richard Madeley and Judy Finnegan was “a demonstrable factor” in the success of many publishers’ titles.

“Everyone in the industry is delighted by the success of the programme,” he said.

Bloomsbury said it was putting in place a larger editorial, marketing and design infrastructure to increase its market share in young fiction, after carrying out a review into the children’s book market.

The review, carried out last year, concluded there was still considerable potential for growth in children’s book publishing, especially in fiction for six to 18-year-olds.

This was underpinned by the success of novels such as A Gathering Light.

Bloomsbury said it was confident that German publisher Berlin Verlag, which it acquired last year, would start to contribute to group profit.

The main focus at the division had been to drive top-line growth and reduce overheads, amid difficult conditions in the German market.

The company was upbeat about the benefits of the link between its divisions in the UK, USA and Germany. It said that sharing books across the divisions could lead to significantly better margins.

Turnover rose by 6.7% to £30.94m (€45.27m) during the six months, while the interim dividend was raised by 10.1% to 0.522p.