REG - BloomsburyPublishing - AGM Trading Update

Bloomsbury PublishingAnnouncement

20/07/2022 07:00

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RNS Number : 0368T  Bloomsbury Publishing PLC  20 July 2022

20 July 2022

BLOOMSBURY PUBLISHING PLC

("Bloomsbury" or "the Company")

 

AGM Trading Update

Sales growth of 27% for the first four months

Bloomsbury announces its trading update for the four months ended 30 June
2022, ahead of the Company's Annual General Meeting ("AGM") at 12.00pm today.

Bloomsbury experienced strong trading for the first four months of its
financial year, with year-on-year sales growth of 27%, demonstrating
resilience and maintaining momentum from the prior year's outstanding
performance.

Trading

 Revenue by division                    4 months to June 2022  4 months to June 2021  Growth

                                        £'000                  £'000
             Consumer
             Children's Trade           33,252                 24,828                 34%
             Adult Trade                16,699                 14,916                 12%
             Total Consumer             49,951                 39,744                 26%

             Non-Consumer
             Academic and Professional  23,472                 15,765                 49%
             Special Interest            6,838                 7,608                  (10)%
             Total Non-Consumer         30,310                 23,373                 30%
                                        80,261                 63,117                 27%

             Total

 

Consumer bestsellers in the period included Paul Hollywood's Bake, the Harry
Potter series by J.K. Rowling, and Sarah J. Maas' titles. In the UK, according
to Nielsen BookScan, Sarah J. Maas has sold just over one million print books
to date. Sarah J. Maas is also one of the most popular authors on TikTok.

 

Non-Consumer division growth was driven by continued strong demand for
Bloomsbury Digital Resources.

 

Outlook

Bloomsbury had a strong performance for the first four months of the year,
trading in line with market expectations*.

 

The first half of 2022 has seen record UK consumer book sales, reported by
Nielsen**, supporting the view that increased reading is here to stay.

 

Bloomsbury was voted Company of the Year at the Master Investor Awards on 30
June 2022.

 

The Board is confident in Bloomsbury's ability to deliver continued success,
given the strength and resilience of our proven strategy, combined with our
strong financial position which enables us to invest in continued organic
growth and further acquisition opportunities.

The results for the six months ending 31 August 2022 will be announced on 26
October 2022.

 

* The Board considers current consensus market expectation for the year ending
28 February 2023 to be revenue of £242.6 million and profit before taxation
and highlighted items of £26.9 million.

 ** UK Nielsen BookScan reported Total Consumer Market sales for the first 26
weeks of 2022 up 3% on 2008, the previous first-half leader.

 

 

For further information, please contact:

 Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
 Nigel Newton, Chief Executive                  nigel.newton@bloomsbury.com (mailto:nigel.newton@bloomsbury.com)

 Penny Scott-Bayfield, Group Finance Director   penny.scott-bayfield@bloomsbury.com

 Hudson Sandler                                 +44 (0) 20 7796 4133
 Dan de Belder / Hattie Dreyfus                 bloomsbury@hudsonsandler.com (mailto:bloomsbury@hudsonsandler.com)

 

 

The information in this announcement has not been audited or otherwise
independently verified and no representation or warranty, express or implied,
is made as to, and no reliance should be placed on, the fairness, accuracy,
completeness or correctness of the information or opinions contained herein.
None of the Company or any of its affiliates, advisors or representatives
shall have any liability whatsoever (in negligence or otherwise) for any loss
whatsoever arising from any use of this announcement, or its contents, or
otherwise arising in connection with this announcement.

 

This announcement does not constitute or form part of any offer or invitation
to sell, or any solicitation of any offer to purchase any shares in the
Company, nor shall it or any part of it or the fact of its distribution form
the basis of, or be relied on in connection with, any contract or commitment
or investment decisions relating thereto, nor does it constitute a
recommendation regarding the shares of the Company.

 

Certain statements, statistics and projections in this announcement are or may
be forward looking. By their nature, forward‑looking statements involve a
number of risks, uncertainties or assumptions that may or may not occur and
actual results or events may differ materially from those expressed or implied
by the forward-looking statements. Accordingly, no assurance can be given that
any particular expectation will be met and reliance should not be placed on
any forward-looking statement. Accordingly, forward-looking statements
contained in this announcement regarding past trends or activities should not
be taken as representation that such trends or activities will continue in the
future. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements,
which are based on the knowledge and information available only at the date of
this announcement's preparation.

 

The Company does not undertake any obligation to update or keep current the
information contained in this announcement, including any forward‑looking
statements, or to correct any inaccuracies which may become apparent and any
opinions expressed in it are subject to change without notice.

 

References in this announcement to other reports or materials, such as a
website address, have been provided to direct the reader to other sources of
information on Bloomsbury Publishing Plc which may be of interest. Neither the
content of Bloomsbury's website nor any website accessible by hyperlinks from
Bloomsbury's website nor any additional materials contained or accessible
thereon, are incorporated in, or form part of, this announcement.

 

 

 

 

 

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