Harry Potter publisher Bloomsbury has forecast its full-year pre-tax profits to be “significantly ahead” of market expectations, as demand for its books has surpassed projections. It’s the second time in three months the company has upgraded projections.
The London-listed publisher, whose shares have soared nearly 118 per cent in the past five years, is predicting revenue of £291.4m and profit before tax of £37.2m for the year ending February 2024.
Shares jumped as much as eight per cent when the market opened on Wednesday.
Bloomsbury said its consumer division was mainly responsible for the upgrade, largely thanks to the recent publication of Sarah J. Maas’s novel, ‘House of Flame and Shadow’, which has hit number one in several markets including the UK, US and Australia.
Maas is a “publishing phenomenon” said the publisher’s chief executive Nigel Newton.
“We are very fortunate to have signed her up with her first book 13 years ago. Her books have a huge audience which continues to grow backed by major Bloomsbury promotional campaigns, driving strong word of mouth recommendation, particularly through TikTok and Instagram channels.”
Bloomsbury is ramping up investment into fantasy fiction as it sees surging demand for novels like Maas’s and JK Rowling’s latest addition to the Harry Potter series, titled ‘The Harry Potter Wizarding Almanac’.
Other popular titles include ‘The House of Doors’ by Tan Twan Eng in the US and ‘Impossible Creatures’ by Katherine Rundell, which was a UK bestseller.
Previously, the market had been expecting the company to report revenue of £274.2m and profit before tax of £32.9m for the 2023 financial year.
Recent research from the Publishers Association found that Booktok, a social media trend that has risen on Tiktok, has got Gen-Z turning an increasing amount of pages.
In the poll of over 2,000 16 to 25-year-olds, 59 per cent said that Booktok or book influencers had helped them discover a passion for reading, with over half turning to it for recommendations.