Bloomsbury hails more Potter magic
Harry Potter publisher Bloomsbury kept profits of more than £20m (€29.6m) in its sights today after the record-breaking launch of the latest Potter title.
The sixth instalment in the series from JK Rowling generated massive sales in the first 24 hours of its launch in July, although this came too late for first-half results, which showed profits up 12.4% to £4.1m (€6m).
With other parts of the business also performing well, Bloomsbury reiterated hopes for annual underlying profits of “not less than £20m (€29.6m)” in the full-year, compared with £16.4m (€24.3m) reported a year earlier.
Chairman Nigel Newton said prospects in 2006 and beyond also appeared strong.
He pointed to the first-half impact of the paperback editions of The Promise of Happiness by Justin Cartwright and The Two of Us by Sheila Hancock, which went to number one in the non-fiction bestseller list.
As well Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the UK publisher described the publishing programme for the second half of 2005 as “exciting” with books from bestselling authors along with potential bestsellers from new writers.
The company also said its international expansion had produced “clear benefits” with Bloomsbury increasing its publishing programme in the United States and Germany.
Revenues in the first six months increased 14.3% to £35.4m (€52.4m), benefiting in part from the release of the latest Harry Potter book into export markets ahead of its launch on July 16.
Marketing and distribution costs increased as a percentage of turnover to 18.3%, from 13.1% last time following an increase in activities related to the export release of Harry Potter.
Bloomsbury said the UK sale of Harry Potter hit 2.01 million in the first 24 hours of business, up 13.1% on the last launch and followed with strong sales in subsequent weeks. Sales of the five earlier books in the series have also been boosted by the launch publicity, the company added.
