Total revenue at Bloomsbury for the six months ended August 31 rose 16.3%, to £44.9 million , including the results of Continuum, which the company acquired in July this year; excluding Continuum, sales were up 11.9% to £43.2 million. A key contributor to the gain was a 564% increase in e-book sales to £2.5 million, 5.5% of total revenue. Pre-tax profit, including a number of one-time items, fell to £317,000 from £818,000.
All four publishing divisions—academic and professional, adult, children’s and educational, and information- increased their sales in the six month period. Although Bloomsbury did not breakout results for the U.K. and U.S., it said both areas were above expectations led by a strong second quarter following a weak first period.
In its release, Bloomsbury said that since the end of August, business in the U.K. and U.S. has been good and the company is positioned to have a good second half.
