UK's Bloomsbury Publishing H1 revenue down 5%

Bloomsbury Publishing

Today 07:19

Overview
UK book publisher's H1 revenue, adjusted profit and EPS fell yr/yr
Company says revenue decline mainly due to weakness in Consumer division, with growth expected in H2
Company raised interim dividend by 5%

Outlook
Company expects to deliver record results for 2026/27, in line with market expectations
Company cites consensus for FY 2026/27 revenue at £354.3 mln and adj profit at £49.9 mln
Company intends to increase full-year dividend in line with market expectations

Result Drivers
CONSUMER DIVISION WEAKNESS - Co said lower H1 revenue was mainly due to reduced Consumer division sales
ACADEMIC & PROFESSIONAL RECOVERY - Academic & Professional Division saw revenue growth across all territories and formats, excluding AI licensing
AI LICENSING IMPACT - Ongoing AI licensing contributed to revenue but at a lower level, reducing margin in Academic & Professional Division

Company press release: ID:nRSV9504Za

Key Details
Metric
Beat/Miss
Actual
Consensus Estimate
H1 Revenue
 
GBP 151.60 mln
 
H1 EPS
 
GBP 0.09
 
H1 Adjusted Operating Profit
 
GBP 17.10 mln
 
H1 Basic EPS
 
GBP 0.09
 
H1 Gross Profit
 
GBP 90.10 mln
 
H1 Operating Profit
 
GBP 9.60 mln
 
H1 Pretax Profit
 
GBP 9.30 mln
 

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 GBp780.00, about 16.1% above its October 21 closing price of GBp672.00
The stock recently traded at 15 times the next 12-month earnings vs. a P/E of 14 three months ago

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(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.)