Harry Potter keeps flying off shelves as Bloomsbury breaks records

Sarah J. Maas and the still-popular JK Rowling Harry Potter books are set to help publisher Bloomsbury beat expectations, it was announced this morning.

In its results for the six months to 31 August, the publishing house told markets consumer revenue was up 47 per cent to £131.3m for the half year, up from £89.4m, while profit before taxation was up 91 per cent to £21.4m, from £11.2m in the previous year.

Best sellers were Sarah J. Maas’ titles, where sales grew by 102 per cent, and 27 years after it first came out, the Harry Potter series, which “continues to be a bestseller”.

Bloomsbury, which joined the FTSE 250 in August, also reported moderate growth in its non-consumer division, up three per cent to £48.5m.

Overall, the firm’s revenue came in at at £179.8m, up 32 per cent last year and 46 per cent on the year before that.

The company said it had its “highest first half revenue and profit in its history in the six months to 31 August 2024”, as it looked forward optimistically, saying the firm “now expect[s] trading for full year 2024/25 to be ahead of the current consensus expectations”

Nigel Newton, chief executive, said: “We have achieved our fifth consecutive double-digit growth in the first half” adding that recent acquisitions including Rowman & Littlefield, had been “significantly strengthening our academic portfolio.”

“Bloomsbury was admitted to the FTSE 250 on 1 August. Finally, we have risen to be the 39^th largest publisher in the world up from 51^st in 2020 according to the recent Global Publishing Ranking league table.”

“Following our strong performance in the first half of this year and good trading in September and October, we now expect trading for full year 2024/25 to be ahead of the current consensus expectation.”

Bloomsbury’s shares are up almost 90 per cent in the last year. This morning it rose 7.62 per cent after the open.