03:00 Tue 21 Jul 2020
BloomsburyPublishing - AGM Trading Update
("Bloomsbury" or "the Company")
AGM Trading Update
Bloomsbury announces its trading update for the four months ended
Bloomsbury experienced strong trading for the first four months of its financial year, ahead of the Board's expectations, with year-on-year sales growth of 18% during a period of unprecedented disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Our revenue and earnings are weighted towards the second-half, with sales of trade titles rising for Christmas and sales of academic titles being strongest at the beginning of the academic year in the Autumn.
Trading
Revenue by division
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4 months to |
4 months to |
Growth |
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£'000 |
£'000 |
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Consumer |
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Children's Trade |
18,776 |
14,734 |
27% |
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Adult Trade |
12,705 |
9,856 |
29% |
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Total Consumer |
31,481 |
24,590 |
28% |
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Non-Consumer |
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Academic and Professional |
11,824 |
11,335 |
4% |
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Special Interest |
6,189 |
6,188 |
- |
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Total Non-Consumer |
18,013 |
17,522 |
3% |
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Total |
49,494 |
42,112 |
18% |
Print revenues were 9% above last year's sales, and digital revenues grew by 63% year-on-year. Digital revenues include academic digital products as well as e-books and audio books. E-book revenues were 53% higher than last year and Bloomsbury Digital Resources saw year-on-year growth of 60%.
Consumer division revenues were 28% ahead of last year, with strong print and e-book sales. Adult revenues grew by 29% and Children's revenues by 27%. Bestsellers included the Harry Potter series by
Non-Consumer division revenue was 3% above last year, with Academic and Professional growth of 4%, with strong Academic digital growth in Bloomsbury Digital Resources and e-books, offset by significantly lower print sales. Special Interest revenue was in line with last year.
Liquidity
At
Outlook
As announced on
When the Company completed the equity placing in April, bookshops and wholesalers worldwide had shut, academic institutions had closed, internet retailers had de-prioritised books and distributors were operating at reduced capacity with furloughed staff.
Since June, bookshops have started to re-open and internet, e-book, digital resource and some bookshop sales are doing well. We have had a significant number one bestseller in the
Our digital strategy has placed us well to benefit from increased demand for digital resources, audio and e-books during the pandemic. Academic institutions are facing changes in their student mix, with fewer international students, and their higher fees.
Our good May and June performance in particular were unexpected, and historically demand for books has been resilient in times of economic downturns. However, our customers are unclear about what is to follow. Our outlook in the next eight months therefore remains uncertain as the pandemic continues.
Bloomsbury has a successful track record of acquisitions and we are considering opportunities in Academic publishing.
The results for the six months ending
For further information, please contact:
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+44 (0) 20 7796 4133 |
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