Harry Potter writer Bloomsbury boosted by £65m US teachers deal

Bloomsbury Publishing shares rose sharply on Thursday after the group lifted profit expectations for the second time in five months.

The Harry Potter publisher highlighted strong non-consumer growth over the year to 28 February, driven by the record £65million acquisition of US firm Rowan & Littlefield’s academic business in May 2024.

Bloomsbury, which said it enjoyed a strong performance in the second half of last year, has previously attributed recent profit growth to the popularity of fantasy novelist Sarah J. Maas novels.

But the publisher told investors on Thursday that recent success in its consumer division has been ‘broadly based’ across its portfolio.

The group’s Bloomsbury Digital Resources division also grew for the full year despite previously flagged budgetary pressures in its core academic markets.

Bloomsbury said the strong performance has enabled the group to pay down $7.5million of the $37million debt associated with the acquisition of Rowman & Littlefield ‘ahead of schedule’.

Harry Potter publisher Bloomsbury said recent success in its consumer division has been ‘broadly based’ across its portfolio, with the growth enabling it to pay down acquisition debt

The group expects full-year revenues and adjusted pre-tax profits to come in ahead of market expectations of £333.4million and £39.6million, respectively.

Bloomsbury said: ‘The Company’s robust performance is powerfully driven by determined execution of the Bloomsbury 2030 vision, focused on our growth, portfolio and people.

‘Our authors, customers, consistent performance, and the scale and resilience of our business continue to underpin the confidence we have in the future.’

Bloomsbury shares were up 6.2 per cent to 616p in early trading, bringing 12-month gains to just over 11 per cent. 

The shares were handed a boost in January after Bloomsbury secured a last minute distribution agreement with Amazon.  

Fiona Orford-Williams, director at investment analyst research firm Edison Group, said: ‘Encouragingly, the growth in the consumer division is broadly based, rather than driven from one or two breakout hit titles, while the acquisition of Rowman & Littlefield in the non-Consumer division has delivered growth in that side of the business.

‘The titles brought in with it are being digitised, which will increase their revenue-generating potential.

‘US academic markets remain under budgetary pressure, and this will limit how far and fast growth in Bloomsbury’s non-consumer business can be achieved for the time being, but meanwhile, the investment is being made in cementing the relevant relationships.’