Bloomsbury is expected to increase its revenue to almost £320 million as the publisher of JK Rowling’s Harry Potter continues to feel the impact of the blockbuster series.
The London-listed publishing giant said it was on track to generate revenue of £319 million and pre-tax profit of £37.6 million in the 12 months to 28 February 2025 – in line with market expectations that were only revised upwards in February.
Several Bloomsbury titles posted record sales this year. Sarah J. Maas’ bestselling Crescent City series, the Harry Potter collection, Cixin Liu’s Three Suns, Stuart Turton’s The Last Murder at World’s End and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s How to Eat 30 Plants a Week all posted strong sales.
The publisher said it also benefited from the growth of its digital division after acquiring Rowman and Littlefield’s academic publishing business in May, expanding its virtual learning offerings.
The acquisition doubled Bloomsbury’s range of academic titles to 97,000 and made the company one of the largest publishers in the US sector.
In a statement released this morning, the publisher said: “This strategically important acquisition and our organic growth will increase Bloomsbury Digital Resources (BDR) revenue from £27 million in 2023/2024 to our increased 2027/28 BDR revenue target of £41 million, as Bloomsbury applies its proven ability to create world-class digital content to Rowman & Littlefield’s market-leading titles for the first time, expanding the BDR products.
“The Board is convinced of the medium and long-term strategy for consumers and investments in scientific and professional publications and benefits from the advantages of digital content.
“We continue to implement our strategy of diversification across different formats, territories and markets, which is consistent with our portfolio-of-portfolios strategy.
“Our authors, customers, consistent performance, and the size and resilience of our business continue to underpin our confidence in the future.”
In May, Bloomsbury increased its dividend to 10.99 pence per share, bringing the full-year dividend to 14.69 pence per share, an increase of 25 percent year-on-year.
In its full-year 2024 trading update, the company reported a 30 percent year-on-year increase in revenue to £342.7 million, while pre-tax profits rose 57 percent to £49 million.
