BOOKTOPIA BOOKS A LOSS BUT REVENUES SURGE

We are placing our orders well in advance now

Tony Nash

BOOKTOPIA chief executive Tony Nash says the online book seller is placing its overseas book orders well in advance, and in large quantities, to avoid gaps in its shelves caused by disrupted global supply chains.

Mr Nash said the algorithms behind its business and the nature of the book industry should prevent it from sitting on a costly bloated inventory.

“We are placing our orders well in advance now,” Mr Nash said.

Booktopia on Monday booked a net loss of $18.078m, dragged down by the costs of its $300m float in December. Underlying earnings (adjusted for the cost of the IPO) rose 125 per cent to $13.6m.

The market reacted negatively to the result, with its shares dropping 5.7 per cent to $2.82.

Booktopia reported total revenue of $223.9m, a 35 per cent increase on the previous year and 10 per cent above the $204.5m forecast in the company’s November 2020 prospectus. No dividends were declared.

Mr Nash said since July and the new Covid-19 lockdowns people had sought escape and entertainment. He said fiction and children’s books had both been popular categories.

“Graphic novels is one of the biggest categories – all the Japanese manga, it just flies off the shelf, it is incredible,” Mr Nash said.

“They are really well supported and there are very few bookshops in Australia that stock them.”

In the 2021 fiscal year,

Booktopia recorded a 27 per cent increase in total units shipped to 8.2 million, an average annual spend per customer of $126.85 (up from $111.43 the previous year) and an average order value of $71.07 ($65.08 previously).

The company is spending more than $20m in the automating of its Sydney distribution centre, which will allow it to ship 60,000 books each day.