REG - BloomsburyPublishing - Trading Update

Bloomsbury PublishingAnnouncement

14/02/2024 07:00

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RNS Number : 0365D  Bloomsbury Publishing PLC  14 February 2024

TRADING UPDATE - 14 February 2024

Revenue and profit significantly ahead of upgraded expectations. New
Bloomsbury US President appointed.

Bloomsbury Publishing Plc (LSE: BMY), the leading independent publisher, is
pleased to announce the following update on trading.

Full year outlook

Ø Revenue and profit before taxation and highlighted items are now expected
to be significantly ahead of upgraded market expectations for the year ending
29 February 2024.

Ø The Board considers that the consensus market expectation for the year
ending 29 February 2024 is currently revenue of £291.4 million and profit
before taxation and highlighted items of £37.2 million.

Highlights

Ø The Consumer division has delivered exceptional growth driven in part by
the publication on 30th January of Sarah J. Maas novel House of Flame and
Shadow which reached Number 1 in the US, UK, Australia and many markets around
the world.

Ø The publication of her latest novel has also driven demand for her previous
15 books which Bloomsbury has published throughout the world in the English
language. Bloomsbury has a further 6 titles under contract with Sarah J. Maas.

Ø Fantasy has become extremely popular around the world. According to Nielsen
Bookscan, in the UK the Fantasy and Sci-Fi genre has grown by 54% in the last
five years.  Bloomsbury publishes Sarah J. Maas and also fantasy bestselling
author Samantha Shannon, Women's Prize winner Susanna Clarke, the iconic Alan
Moore, and Cixin Liu, whose Three Body Problem trilogy film adaptation is
being released with huge fanfare by Netflix on March 21(st), produced by Game
of Thrones' David Benioff and D.B. Weiss.

Ø Bloomsbury is investing further in fantasy writing on the newly launched
Bloomsbury General list.

Ø Other important recent bestsellers are:

·      Ghosts, the bestselling companion book to the BBC smash hit
television series,

·      Poppy Cooks: The Actually Delicious Air Fryer Cookbook by Poppy
O'Toole,

·      Pub Kitchen by Tom Kerridge,

·      The House of Doors by Tan Twan Eng in the US,

·      The Harry Potter Wizarding Almanac, the official companion to
J.K. Rowling's books,

·      We're Going on a Sleigh Ride by Martha Mumford and Cherie
Zamazing and

·      Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell; a Number 1 bestseller
in the UK market and chosen as The Waterstones Book of the Year 2023.

Ø Bloomsbury has appointed Sabrina McCarthy President of Bloomsbury US,
starting at the beginning of April. She will also serve on Bloomsbury's global
Executive Committee. McCarthy brings experience of general and academic
publishing, joining from Ingram Publisher Services where she is Vice President
and General Manager. Over the last eight years, she has overseen six
distribution brands as well as the domestic, international print and digital
sales teams, and the business operations team.

Nigel Newton, Chief Executive, commented: "I am overjoyed to report an
exceptionally strong period of trading, principally driven by the increasing
demand for fantasy fiction. Sarah J. Maas is a publishing phenomenon and we
are very fortunate to have signed her up with her first book 13 years ago.
Her books have a huge audience which continues to grow backed by major
Bloomsbury promotional campaigns, driving strong word of mouth recommendation,
particularly through TikTok and Instagram channels."

The Company will provide further details for the year ended 29 February 2024
with its preliminary results announcement on 23 May 2024.

For further information, please contact:

 Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
 Nigel Newton, Chief Executive                 nigel.newton@bloomsbury.com (mailto:nigel.newton@bloomsbury.com)
 Penny Scott-Bayfield, Group Finance Director  penny.scott-bayfield@bloomsbury.com
                                               (mailto:penny.scott-bayfield@bloomsbury.com)
 Tamsin Garrity, Head of Investor Relations    tamsin.garrity@bloomsbury.com

 Hudson Sandler                                +44 (0) 20 7796 4133
 Dan de Belder / Hattie Dreyfus                bloomsbury@hudsonsandler.com (mailto:bloomsbury@hudsonsandler.com)

 

The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Group to
constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations
(EU) No. 596/2014 ("MAR"). Upon the publication of this announcement via a
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independently verified and no representation or warranty, express or implied,
is made as to, and no reliance should be placed on, the fairness, accuracy,
completeness or correctness of the information or opinions contained herein.
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shall have any liability whatsoever (in negligence or otherwise) for any loss
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This announcement does not constitute or form part of any offer or invitation
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which are based on the knowledge and information available only at the date of
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