Bloomsbury Publishing PLC (LSE:BMY)’s second profit upgrade in a matter of months could just be the beginning of an epic journey fuelled by further novel releases, analysts say.
The London-listed publisher told investors on Wednesday that profit and revenue for the year to February 29 would “significantly” beat expectations of £291.4 million and £37.2 million respectively.
This comes after the market hiked anticipations in December, with the January release of Sarah J. Maas’s latest novel, which subsequently became a bestseller, said to have fuelled earnings.
According to AJ Bell analyst Russ Mould, such growth on the back of Maas’s ‘House of Flame and Shadow’ may not stop there.
“Bloomsbury has at least another six of these potential sales waves locked in from future releases under contract with the author,” he noted.
What’s more, the release of new books often prompts readers to delve into authors’ back catalogues, in Mould’s view, likely bolstering Maas’s sales in this case.
Bloomsbury’s previous success is said to have largely stemmed from its role as the publisher of JK Rowling’s Harry Potter series.
Recently released, ‘The Harry Potter Wizarding Almanac’ was cited by Bloomsbury as aiding strong sales, alongside other titles including the accompanying book to the BBC series ‘Ghosts’.
Bloomsbury was among publishers to benefit from a resurgence in book demand during the lockdowns of the pandemic meanwhile, according to Mould, with the effects of this uptick in readership still being felt today.
Shares in the publisher climbed 10% to 540p.