Harry Potter magic still works for Bloomsbury as publisher forecasts exceed expectations

Bloomsbury, the publisher of Sarah J. Maas and the enduringly popular Harry Potter books by JK Rowling, is set to surpass expectations, according to an announcement made this morning.

The publishing giant reported a 47 per cent increase in consumer revenue for the half-year ending 31 August, rising from £89.4m to £131.3m. Pre-tax profits also saw a significant boost, up 91 per cent to £21.4m from last year's £11.2m, as reported by City AM.

Bestsellers included titles by Sarah J. Maas, which saw a sales growth of 102 per cent, and the Harry Potter series, which remains a bestseller 27 years after its initial release.

Bloomsbury, which became a member of the FTSE 250 in August, also noted a modest three per cent growth in its non-consumer division, reaching £48.5m.

Overall, the company's revenue was £179.8m, marking a 32 per cent increase from last year and a 46 per cent rise from the year before.

The firm announced it had achieved its "highest first half revenue and profit in its history in the six months to 31 August 2024", and expressed optimism about the future, stating that it "now expect[s] trading for full year 2024/25 to be ahead of the current consensus expectations".

CEO Nigel Newton stated: "We have achieved our fifth consecutive double-digit growth in the first half" and added that recent acquisitions, including Rowman & Littlefield, had been "significantly strengthening our academic portfolio."

Bloomsbury's boss said: "Bloomsbury was admitted to the FTSE 250 on 1 August. Finally, we have risen to be the 39th largest publisher in the world up from 51st in 2020 according to the recent Global Publishing Ranking league table."

"Following our strong performance in the first half of this year and good trading in September and October, we now expect trading for full year 2024/25 to be ahead of the current consensus expectation."