Bloomsbury half year profits tumble

25th Oct 2012 13:55

Weak sales at its children's and educational division weighed on first half profit at publisher Bloomsbury as strong demand for the Harry Potter series dwindles. The publisher said pre-tax profit fell to £0.9m in the six month ended August 31st 2012 from £1.5m before. Adjusted pre-tax profit fell to £2.1m compared to £3.3m. Turnover for the interim period increased to £43.5m from £42.4m.Revenue from children's and educational books, which make up around 22% of total revenue, declined 23% to £9.3m. Continuing operating profit reduced by £0.9m to nil reflecting the reduction in Harry Potter sales compared to last year, which was boosted by the final movie in 2011, the group explained.Bloomsbury, which has a second half list which includes Hugh's Three Good Things by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, How to Bake by Paul Hollywood, said it is well positioned for stronger book sales over the next six months. It underlined its confidence by increasing its interim dividend by 6% to 0.94p per share.Ebook sales were a bright spot, up 89% to £4.5m compared to £2.4m before and new e-reader devices are expected to boost fourth quarter ebook sales. Chief Executive Nigel Newton said: "Higher ebook sales and academic turnover continue to increase the weighting of our sales to the second half. In addition we have a strong second half list, including potential best sellers, and are targeting a significant number of rights and services contracts.""We remain well positioned for the future and results continue to show a positive trend over the longer term."Shares of Bloomsbury fell 6.15% in afternoon trade.CJ