Sparks

A strong set of figures from Bloomsbury and an upgrade to full-year expectations are driven by continuing popular enthusiasm for fantasy novels, with sales of Sarah J Maas titles doubling on what was already an impressive number. While there are no more titles from her scheduled for the second half of the year, there are more in the longer-term pipeline.

The broader consumer list has been selling well across several categories and there is a promising slate for the important Christmas market. On the Academic and Professional side of the group, revenues were up 6% despite what has been a more difficult market, with budgetary pressures on academic institutions in the UK and the US. The earlier decision to channel resources behind a strong digital offering, particularly in the humanities, has given Bloomsbury an advantage over publishers slower to make that transition.

The Rowman & Littlefield acquisition broadens the offering further and the increased scale of the Academic and Professional operation should now allow for greater operational efficiencies. Overall, group revenues were up 32% (+26% on an organic basis), with profits up by 50%, leading to Bloomsbury lifting the interim dividend by 5%.