The ‘exceptional showing’ of author Sarah j Maas latest best-seller was behind the bullish revenue and profit call from Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, according to the City broker Peel Hunt
Maas’ critically acclaimed Crescent City: House of Sky and Breath was cited in an upbeat trading statement from the group, which pushed the share price 10% as it told the market annual revenues would be comfortably ahead of expectations and profit "materially" above forecasts.
“Importantly, the company also notes it is successfully mitigating ongoing supply chain issues,” said Peel in a note to clients.
It said it expects Bloomsbury's revenue to increase around 5% to around £220mln, with profit before tax increasing rising 14% to £25.3m, giving 23.6p of earnings.
Peel increased its price target by 25p a share to 425p and retains its ‘buy’ recommendation. Mid-afternoon, the stock was changing hands for 400p.