Bloomsbury hails more Potter magic

Harry Potter publisher Bloomsbury kept profits of more than £20m (€29.6m) in its sights today after the record-breaking launch of the latest Potter title.

The sixth instalment in the series from JK Rowling generated massive sales in the first 24 hours of its launch in July, although this came too late for first-half results, which showed profits up 12.4% to £4.1m (€6m).