Bloomsbury Publishing expects record year despite weak interim results

Bloomsbury Publishing PLC on Thursday reported a sharp decline in first-half profit and lower revenue, but expressed confidence in delivering record annual results following a strong start to the second half.

Bloomsbury shares were down 4.6% to 641.00 pence in London on Thursday, having lost as much as 10% to 605.00p in early trading.

The London-based publisher of books, including the Harry Potter series, said pretax profit nearly halved to £9.3 million in the six months to August 31 from £18.3 million a year earlier.

Revenue fell 5.0% to £151.6 million from £159.5 million, while adjusted pretax profit declined 30% to £16.8 million from £24.0 million.

Operating profit dropped 49% to £9.6 million from £19.0 million, and diluted earnings per share fell to 8.58 pence from 16.79p.

Bloomsbury said Consumer division revenue declined 9.3% to £102.8 million from £113.4 million, with adjusted profit falling 27% to £9.8 million from £13.4 million.

The publisher expects growth in the division to be weighted towards the second half, supported by upcoming releases from bestselling authors, including two new novels by Sarah J Maas in October and January.

It also expects to benefit from the Christmas Day launch of HBO's Harry Potter television series, alongside a new tie-in edition of 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'.

Meanwhile, Academic & Professional division revenue increased 5.9% to £48.8 million from £46.1 million, supported by underlying growth across all territories and in both print and digital formats.

However, adjusted profit in the division fell 38% to £6.8 million from £11.0 million, reflecting a smaller contribution from its non-exclusive artificial intelligence licensing agreement.

Bloomsbury said it continues to benefit from AI licensing revenue and expects to receive proceeds from the USD1.5 billion settlement agreed by AI company Anthropic in a US copyright class action lawsuit.

The publisher has submitted claims under the settlement and said it would provide a further update in due course.

Net cash rose to £22.8 million at the end of August from £2.4 million a year earlier, following further repayments of debt associated with its acquisition of Rowman & Littlefield.

Bloomsbury raised its interim dividend by 5.0% to 4.28p per share from 4.08p, continuing its record of annual dividend increases since its flotation in 1994.

Looking ahead, the publisher reaffirmed its confidence in delivering record results for the financial year ending February 28, 2027, in line with market expectations.

Bloomsbury cited consensus forecasts of £354.3 million in revenue and £49.9 million in adjusted pretax profit for financial 2027, representing increases of 8.7% and 11%, respectively, from £325.9 million and £44.9 million reported for financial 2026.

Copyright 2026 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.