Bloomsbury Publishing PLC (LSE:BMY) said its annual revenues would be comfortably ahead of City expectations and profit "materially" above forecasts, in part driven by sales of Sarah J Maas' new title, Crescent City: House of Sky and Breath.
Its consumer division enjoyed a slew of successes, including What I Wish People Knew About Dementia by Wendy Mitchell, Violeta by Isabel Allende and The Leviathan by Rosie Andrews.
However, the focus internally and in the Square Mile has been on the Harry Potter publisher’s digital strategy, which is now paying off.
Bloomsbury said it has exceeded its goal of generating £15mln of annual sales from this source and £5mln of profits in the 12 months ended February 28 2022.
“Alongside this strong performance, we successfully mitigated ongoing print supply chain challenges, including printing titles earlier than usual and being flexible about where we print. We remain confident in the strength and resilience of our business and our long-term strategy,” said chief executive Nigel Newton.
In the same announcement, Bloomsbury said it is appointing former AB Foods finance chief, John Bason, as an independent director, replacing Steven Hall.
The shares opened 5% higher at 383p.