The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Firm still helped by Potter’s magic
HARRY POTTER publisher Bloomsbury has revealed that it continues to draw on the publishing magic of the tales of witchcraft and wizardry as it announced a 13% hike in pre-tax profits.
The book firm said it had high hopes for more titles based on the stories of the boy wizard, and had also cast a spell over the online book market as part of an “extremely successful year”.
It said turnover had risen by 11.5% to £103.2 million during the year to the end of February, with pre-tax profit now £4.8m.
That success was partly fuelled by what it called “huge” growth in the ebook market — with sales increasing by 159%, to a total of £5.7m, over the course of the year.
But hard copies have been successful, with academic and professional publications accounting for almost a quarter of the group’s business, three novels in the running for a major fiction prize and a strong trade list for the year ahead.
Those prospects include JK Rowling’s Hogwarts Library boxset and a cookery book by Hugh Fearnley-whittingstall.
The company also has plans to capitalise on the continuing popularity of the Potter books after signing an ebook deal with their Perthshire-based author.
Bloomsbury will pick up a share of profits from downloads from Rowling’s Pottermore web portal.
The publisher also used its preliminary results to reflect on increased sales of Potter titles thanks to last summer’s release of the final film installment of the boy wizard’s epic adventure, and to look ahead to the 15th anniversary of the release of Rowling’s first book this summer when they say a “major competition” will be launched to drive people into book shops.
Illustrated editions of the Harry Potter titles will also be printed from next year, the publisher added.
The company is also looking to capitalise on the success of new teen hit Hunger Games, saying it has created a market for similar children’s and young adults’books on a dystopian theme.
Last year saw strong sales from recipe books by Heston Bulmenthal and Raymond Blanc, as well as a number of bestsellers in both the print and ebook charts.
Bloomsbury chief executive Nigel Newton said: “We have enjoyed an extremely successful year, with strong performances across the group.
“There is a fundamental shift happening from print to digital and from the high street to the internet.
“The decision to digitise our backlist several years ago continues to reap benefits and as a result we have seen significant ebook sales, up 159% year on year.
“The business has exciting opportunities for 2012 and beyond as our positioning, platform and industry insights coupled with our strong titles in the UK and US put us in a very healthy position for this dynamic market place.”