Books publisher Bloomsbury Publishing (LON: BMY) says full year pre-tax profit will be significantly ahead of expectations. The latest novel by fantasy fiction writer Sarah J Maas has boosted the performance of the consumer division even though it was published on 30 January and will only contribute for one month in this financial year.
The 2023-24 pre-tax profit will be better than previously upgraded estimates of £37.2m. The share price jumped 8.65% to 534p and it has risen by 13.6% since the start of the year. The prospective earnings multiple could be around 14.
The publication of House of Flame and Shadow has increased demand for the other 15 books written by Sarah J Maas. The publisher signed her up 13 years ago. Bloomsbury is expanding its fantasy book range. Another of its authors is Cixin Liu, whose Three Body Problem trilogy film adaptation is being released on Netflix on 21 March.
Cook books and The Harry Potter Wizarding Almanac are also among the publisher’s bestsellers. The results for the year to February 2024 will be published on 23 May.
