Bloomsbury Publishing's FY revenue edges past estimates

Bloomsbury Publishing

20/05/2026 07:11

Overview

UK book publisher's FY revenue declined yr/yr but slightly beat analyst expectations

Adjusted operating profit for FY slightly beat analyst consensus

Company increased final dividend by 5% and maintains 31-year growth track record

Outlook

Bloomsbury expects 2026/27 revenue of £353.0m and profit before tax of £50.0m

Company says exceptional pre-orders and strong publishing pipeline underpin upgraded profit outlook

Bloomsbury expects ongoing AI licensing revenue to support growth in 2026/27

Result Drivers

CONSUMER DIVISION COMPARATIVE - Co said Consumer revenue fell due to a strong prior-year comparison with exceptional sales of a Sarah J. Maas title

ACADEMIC & PROFESSIONAL GROWTH - Academic & Professional revenue rose, driven by AI licensing, integration of Rowman & Littlefield, and growth in print, digital and rights revenues

RESTRUCTURING AND EFFICIENCY - Streamlining and simplification of company structure improved agility and financial performance

Company press release: ID:nRST9831Ea

Key Details

Metric
Beat/Miss
Actual
Consensus Estimate
FY Revenue
Slight Beat*
GBP 325.90 mln
GBP 325.75 mln (6 Analysts)
FY EPS
GBP 0.33
FY Adjusted Operating Profit
Slight Beat*
GBP 46.10 mln
GBP 45.98 mln (4 Analysts)
FY Basic EPS
GBP 0.33
FY Gross Profit
GBP 191.60 mln
FY Operating Profit
GBP 35.40 mln
FY Pretax Profit
GBP 34.20 mln


*Applies to a deviation of less than 1%; not applicable for per-share numbers.

Analyst Coverage

The current average analyst rating on the shares is "buy" and the breakdown of recommendations is 5 "strong buy" or "buy", no "hold" and no "sell" or "strong sell"

The average consensus recommendation for the consumer publishing peer group is "buy"

Wall Street's median 12-month price target for Bloomsbury Publishing PLC is GBp750.00, about 24.6% above its May 19 closing price of GBp602.00

The stock recently traded at 13 times the next 12-month earnings vs. a P/E of 12 three months ago

For questions concerning the data in this report, contact Estimates.Support@lseg.com. For any other questions or feedback, contact reuters.support@thomsonreuters.com.

(This story was created using Reuters automation and AI based on LSEG and company data. It was checked and edited by a Reuters journalist prior to publication.)