Bloomsbury: Profit falls at Harry Potter publisher despite sales rise
Profit at Bloomsbury Publishing, the giant most known for the Harry Potter series, was cut by almost a fifth during its latest financial year despite revenue rising.
The London-listed company has reported a pre-tax profit of £32.5m for the year to 28 February 2025, down from the £41.5m it achieved in the prior 12 months.
However, the total is still above the £25.4m it posted for the year before that.
New figures filed with the London Stock Exchange also show Bloomsbury’s revenue increased over the year from £342.7m to £361m – topping market expectations.
The board of the independent publisher, which is also known for the fantasy romance hits by Sarah J. Maas, has recommended a final dividend of 11.54p, bringing the full-year payout to 15.43p per share, a five per cent increase on the prior 12 months.
Founder and chief executive Nigel Newton said the results reflected the strength of the firm’s “portfolio of portfolios” strategy and highlighted significant progress on its Bloomsbury 2030 growth plan.
“We are making meaningful strides across all pillars – growth, portfolio and people,” Newton told the market on Thursday.
The results were boosted by the £63m acquisition of US academic publisher Rowman & Littlefield, announced last year, which added £19.8m in revenue and helped drive a 12 per cent rise in non-consumer sales to £105m.
Profit in that division rose to £11.4m, with academic and professional sales up 18 per cent year-on-year.
Bloomsbury now a member of the FTSE 250
Bloomsbury said it had begun implementing efficiencies across the enlarged academic business and that the Rowman integration was “progressing well”.
Its digital academic arm, ‘Bloomsbury digital resources’, saw revenue increase by two per cent to £27m, with the company reaffirming its ambition to hit £41m in digital revenue by 2027/28.
A new office in Singapore is set to open this year to expand the company’s presence in Asia, building on strong growth in India and Australia.
Consumer revenue rose three per cent to £256m, supported by continued strength in key commercial and literary titles, although profit dipped from £37.8m to £31.4m as the company waded tough comparatives following a strong year in 2023/24, driven by TikTok-fuelled fiction sales.
Bloomsbury made headlines last August when it joined the FTSE 250 for the first time and was named Publisher of the Year at the 2025 British Book Awards.
The company said it was also exploring opportunities to monetise its academic content through responsible AI licensing deals.
Looking ahead, Bloomsbury expects trading for 2025 and 2026 to be broadly in line with consensus expectations, citing confidence in its global positioning and balanced business model.