Bloomsbury shares spark on 2027 profit outlook

5th Mar 2026 11:03

(Sharecast News) - Shares in Bloomsbury Publishing shot higher on Thursday after it said profit for the year ending 28 February 2027 was set to be "materially ahead" of market expectations as Sarah J. Maas will publish her next two novels within the next year.

Bloomsbury noted in an update that Sarah J. Maas will publish the next two novels in her A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR) series on 27 October 2026 and 12 January 2027.

Chief executive Nigel Newton said: "Fans all over the world are eagerly anticipating reading the next books in the ACOTAR series and we are very excited about this news. Publishing two novels within 11 weeks of each other from a bestselling author is almost unprecedented in publishing history."

Bloomsbury expects group profit for the year ended 28 February 2026 to be in line with consensus expectations of £44.3m. "This reflects the benefits of Bloomsbury's portfolio of portfolios strategy and includes a strong performance from the Academic division," it said.

For the year ending 28 February 2027, however, profit is now expected to be materially ahead of consensus expectations of £44.5m.

Bloomsbury pointed out that Sarah J. Maas was the highest selling author in the US in 2024 according to Circana sales data. She was also the No.1 bestselling fantasy author in the UK in 2025.

All 16 of her previous novels are published by Bloomsbury.

At 1025 GMT, the shares were up 16.3% at 552.75p.