Helped by its acquisition of Osprey Publishing and strong gains in the children’s & educational segment, Bloomsbury Publishing saw total revenue rise 13% in the six months ended August 31, 2015, compared to the same period a year ago. While sales hit £52.7 million, pretax profit dipped to £342,000 from £509,000.
Revenue in the children’s & education segment jumped 45%, led by Paper Towns, A Court of Thorns, Fuzzy Mud and new editions of the Harry Potter novels. In the adult publishing division sales rose 6%, thanks to the December 2014 Osprey acquisition, which added £3.2 million in sales. Excluding Osprey revenue was down, which the company attributed to fewer bestsellers.
Revenue in the academic & professional division increased 3% with digital revenue up 21%, to £2.5 million. Digital represented 17% of total revenue in the division, compared to 15% in the first six months last year. (Digital sales represented 13.4% of all Bloomsbury revenue in the most recent six months, up from 12.0% a year ago).
Bloomsbury chairman Nigel Newton noted that the company released its illustrated edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone on October 6, and expects this book, along with several key adult titles, to help boost sales in the second part of fiscal 2016.
