Readers are turning to books as an affordable treat in challenging economic times, Bloomsbury Publishing said as it revealed its “best ever” annual financial performance.
The publishing house said consumers have been cutting back “on more expensive forms of diversion”, and chief executive Nigel Newton added that “people are marching into book shops all over the world” post-pandemic.
Popular goods recently have included Sarah J. Maas’ titles, and A Day of Fallen Night by Samantha Shannon and Bake by Paul Hollywood have been among bestsellers.
In the year to February 28 sales rose 15% to £264.1 million and profits before tax and highlighted items jumped 16% to £31.1 million.
The company, which publishes the Harry Potter series and continues to see strong demand for it, had told the City in March it expected those figures to respectively be over £260 million and some £30 million.
Jocelyn Paulley, retail and technology partner at law firm Gowling WLG, said: “It’s clear that the cost of living crisis is making consumers choose more inexpensive pastimes as they combat high energy bills and inflation, with non-fiction books in particular providing an alternative reality.”
Bloomsbury, which has an academic division that universities subscribe to and provides e-book collections, saw its non-consumer division’s revenue grow 19%.
Newton, who founded the firm in London in 1986, said: “These results demonstrate the strength of our strategy to publish for both the consumer and the academic markets, unusual in our industry, and to grow digital revenues while expanding globally.”
The board has proposed a 10% increase in its final dividend to 10.34p per share.
