BLOOMSBURY PUBLISHING PLC
("Bloomsbury" or "the
Company")
Audited Preliminary Results
for the year ended 29 February 2024
Success of portfolio of
portfolios strategy leads to exceptional sales up 30% and profits
up 57% with full year dividend up 25%
Revenue and profit for
2024/25 upgraded
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc (LSE:
BMY), the leading independent publisher, today announces audited
results for the year ended 29 February 2024.
Commenting on the results, Nigel Newton, Chief Executive,
said:
"We had an outstanding year at
Bloomsbury with exceptional trading leading to the highest revenue
and profit in Bloomsbury's 37 year history. Our sales are up £79m,
an increase of 30% from £264m to £343m. Profit is up £18m, an
increase of 57% from £31m to £49m. This dramatic increase arises
from our entrepreneurial diversification strategy which has forged
a portfolio of portfolios combining consumer and academic
publishing across formats, territories and subject areas, a
resilient model delivering long-term success.
Consumer revenue growth was 49%.
Recent success has been principally driven by the increasing
demand for fantasy fiction. Sarah J. Maas is a publishing
phenomenon and we are very fortunate to have signed her up with her
first book 14 years ago. Her books have captivated a huge
audience, supported by major Bloomsbury promotional campaigns,
driving strong word of mouth recommendation, particularly through
social media channels.
Bloomsbury Digital Resources
increased sales to £27m and remains on course to achieve its target
of c.£37m turnover in 2027/28 though Non-Consumer sales were
slightly down by 4% to £93.4 million. Bloomsbury is well placed,
despite the end of US government COVID relief funding, to
capitalise on the continued structural shift to digital learning
and is confident in the long-term growth opportunities of the
Non-Consumer division given the significant growth projections for
higher education. The World Bank estimates that globally there will
be 380 million higher education students by 2030, up from 220
million students in 2021, which itself more than doubled the
enrolment figures from 2000.
In recognition of this performance
and in accordance with our progressive dividend policy, the Board
recommends a final dividend of 10.99 pence per share, taking our
full year dividend to 14.69 pence per share, an increase of 25%
year on year.
Trading for 2024/25 is expected to
be slightly ahead of current consensus expectation1.
Expectations for 2024/25 reflect the exceptional performance in
2023/24, and that we are not expecting to publish a new Sarah J.
Maas title in the year ending 28 February 2025. Last week, we won
five awards at the British Book Awards including Children's
Publisher of the Year. Today we launch Bloomsbury 2030, setting out
our vision for the Company over the next six years.
Bloomsbury has a clear strategy.
Our strong cash generation and balance sheet enables us to continue
investing in innovative content and authors, as well as
capitalising on emerging opportunities. As a result of these
strengths, the genius of our authors and the skill of our people
worldwide at our unique combination of literary and scholarly
publishing, we remain confident in Bloomsbury's ability to deliver
continued success."
Note
1. The
Board considers consensus market expectation (before this
publication) for the year ending 28 February 2025 to be revenue of
£283.6m and profit before taxation and highlighted items of
£35.4m.
For further information, please contact:
Bloomsbury
Publishing Plc
|
|
Tamsin Garrity, Head of Investor
Relations
|
tamsin.garrity@bloomsbury.com
|
Hudson
Sandler
|
+44 (0) 20 7796 4133
|
Dan de Belder / Hattie Dreyfus / Emily
Brooker
|
bloomsbury@hudsonsandler.com
|
Financial Highlights
|
2023/24
|
2022/23
|
2021/22
|
'24 vs '23
|
'24 vs '22
|
Revenue
|
£342.7m
|
£264.1m
|
£230.1m
|
30%
|
49%
|
Profit before taxation and
highlighted items1
|
£48.7m
|
£31.1m
|
£26.7m
|
57%
|
82%
|
Profit before taxation
|
£41.5m
|
£25.4m
|
£22.2m
|
63%
|
87%
|
Adjusted diluted earnings per
share
|
46.62p
|
30.56p
|
25.94p
|
53%
|
80%
|
Diluted earnings per
share
|
39.11p
|
24.54p
|
20.33p
|
59%
|
92%
|
Net cash
|
£65.8m
|
£51.5m
|
£41.2m
|
28%
|
59%
|
Final dividend per
share
|
10.99p
|
10.34p
|
9.40p
|
6%
|
17%
|
Total dividend per
share
|
14.69p
|
11.75p
|
10.74p
|
25%
|
37%
|
Operational Highlights
Consumer Division
●
|
Consumer revenue growth of 49% to
£249.2m (2022/23: £166.7m)
|
●
|
Consumer profit before taxation
and highlighted items1 up 108% to £37.8m (2022/23:
£18.1m)
|
●
|
Commercial and literary success
across the portfolio with exceptional performance from sales of
Sarah J. Maas' titles, up 161%, Katherine Rundell, Samantha Shannon
and continued strong sales of Harry Potter, 26 years since first
publication
|
Non-Consumer Division
●
|
Non-Consumer revenue was £93.4m
(2022/23: £97.4m)
|
●
|
Non-Consumer profit before
taxation and highlighted items1 was £9.9m (2022/23:
£13.1m)
|
●
|
Academic & Professional
revenue was £70.5m (2022/23: £75.7m) and profit before taxation and
highlighted items1 was £9.3m (2022/23:
£12.4m)
|
●
|
Bloomsbury Digital Resources
("BDR") revenue growth of 2% to £26.6m (2022/23: £26.2m)
|
●
|
Reiterate BDR target to achieve
c.£37m of turnover with 40% organic revenue growth over five years
to 2027/28.
|
Note
1 Highlighted items comprise amortisation of acquired
intangible assets and legal and other professional costs relating
to ongoing and completed acquisitions and restructuring
costs.
Disclaimer
Certain statements, statistics and
projections in this announcement are or may be forward looking. By
their nature, forward‑looking statements involve a number of risks,
uncertainties or assumptions that may or may not occur and actual
results or events may differ materially from those expressed or
implied by the forward-looking statements. Accordingly, no
assurance can be given that any particular expectation will be met
and reliance should not be placed on any forward-looking statement.
Accordingly, forward-looking statements contained in this
announcement regarding past trends or activities should not be
taken as representation that such trends or activities will
continue in the future. You should not place undue reliance on
forward-looking statements, which are based on the knowledge and
information available only at the date of this announcement's
preparation. The Company does not undertake any obligation to
update or keep current the information contained in this
announcement, including any forward‑looking statements, or to
correct any inaccuracies which may become apparent and any opinions
expressed in it are subject to change without notice. References in
this announcement to other reports or materials, such as a website
address, have been provided to direct the reader to other sources
of information on Bloomsbury Publishing Plc which may be of
interest. Neither the content of Bloomsbury's website nor any
website accessible by hyperlinks from Bloomsbury's website nor any
additional materials contained or accessible thereon, are
incorporated in, or form part of, this
announcement.
Chief Executive's statement
Overview
Bloomsbury, the literary and
scholarly publisher, achieved the highest revenue and profit in its
37 year history in the year ended 29 February 2024. Bloomsbury
delivered revenue growth of 30% to £342.7m (2022/23:
£264.1m).
Group profit before taxation and
highlighted items increased 57% to £48.7m (2022/23: £31.1m). Profit
before taxation increased by 63% to £41.5m (2022/23: £25.4m). The
highlighted items of £7.3m (2022/23: £5.7m) consist of the
amortisation of acquired intangible assets of £4.9m (2022/23:
£5.2m), one-off legal and other professional fees relating to
acquisitions and restructuring costs of £2.3m (2022/23: £0.5m). The
effective rate of tax for the year was 22.2% (2022/23: 20.3%). The
adjusted effective rate of tax, excluding highlighted items, was
21.0% (2022/23: 18.9%).
Diluted earnings per share,
excluding highlighted items, grew 53% to 46.62p (2022/23:
30.56p). Including highlighted items, profit before tax
increased to £41.5m (2022/23: £25.4m) and diluted earnings per
share grew 59% to 39.11p (2022/23: 24.54p). The Board recommends a
6% increase in our final dividend to 10.99p per share, taking our
full year dividend to 14.69p per share, an increase of 25% year on
year.
We have once again demonstrated
the extraordinary upside potential of consumer publishing with
Sarah J. Maas. Consumer revenue growth was 49%, outperforming the
UK trade market which was up 4% and the US trade market which was
down 0.3% in 2023 (UK Publishers Association and Association of
American Publishers respectively, figures by value).
In Non-Consumer, Bloomsbury
Digital Resources ("BDR") increased its sales by 2% to £26.6m
against a backdrop of more normalised post COVID higher education
market. Our academic customer renewal rate
remained at industry leading levels of 90%. Critically, notwithstanding this market
normalisation, we remain confident in the long-term trends. BDR
remains on course to achieve its target of 40% organic revenue
growth in the five years to 2027/28 to deliver c.£37m
turnover.
We have purposefully pursued a
strategy of diversification across consumer and academic publishing
and within those have diversified across formats and territories.
This strategy has created a portfolio of portfolios - a model that
provides resilient growth and cash generation. We continue to focus
on capital allocation to accelerate the flywheel of
Bloomsbury:
(1) Fortifying our existing
business by investing in our Company, authors and
employees;
(2) Enhancing the diversification
of our business to drive future profitability, organically and
through acquisitions; and,
(3) Retaining a strong
balance sheet while rewarding shareholders through our
dividend.
Our diversification across formats
has ensured expanding publishing through digital channels, and we
continue to expand our academic as well as consumer markets. Our
international revenues are 77% of total revenue. In Academic
subject areas, we provide resources across the Humanities, Social
Sciences, Visual Arts, and Performing Arts. Our Consumer lists are
increasingly diverse, with a sizeable presence in specific areas of
non-fiction as well as bestselling award-winning fiction lists for
adults and children.
Bloomsbury is proud to have been
recognised for our work on diversity by the Small Cap Network by
winning the Diversity, Inclusivity and Engagement Award. In
recognition of our progress on sustainability, Bloomsbury received
the IPG Sustainability Award and the LBF's inaugural Sustainability
Initiative Award.
Consumer
Division
The Consumer division consists of
Adult publishing (fiction, non-fiction and lifestyle) and
Children's publishing (picture books, young fiction and
non-fiction, pre-school and illustrated non-fiction titles). The
Consumer division generated revenue growth of 49% to £249.2m
(2022/23: £166.7m). Profit before taxation and highlighted items
increased by 108% to £37.8m (2022/23: £18.1m). Profit before
taxation increased by 110% to £37.4m (2022/23: £17.8m).
Bloomsbury has again demonstrated
the success and huge upside of consumer publishing. The success of
Sarah J. Maas continues with her 16th book with
Bloomsbury, Crescent City: House
of Flame and Shadow, which became a global No.1 bestseller
on publication on 30 January 2024 and drove sales in her backlist
titles. Sarah J. Maas' sales grew by 161% year on year, cementing
her position as a publishing phenomenon. Desire by readers to
immerse themselves in the interwoven worlds Sarah J. Maas has
created, has driven sales across the Throne of Glass and A Court of
Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR) series as well as the most recent
Crescent City series. This, alongside Bloomsbury's innovative
marketing, has enabled Sarah J. Maas' work to reach a wider
audience.
Harry Potter title sales remain
strong, 26 years after first publication, showing the enduring
appeal of this classic series. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's
Stone was the No.1 bestselling Children's book of the year
for the first time since 2002 (UK Nielsen Bookscan). The Bloomsbury
curated The Harry Potter
Wizarding Almanac was a No.1 Sunday Times Bestseller, a No.1
New York Times Bestseller
and was published in 37 languages with international
publishers.
Commercial and literary
recognition for our authors continued, notably with:
●
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Katherine Rundell's Impossible Creatures being crowned
Waterstones Book of the Year 2023 and was a Sunday Times Bestseller.
|
●
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Louise Kennedy's Trespasses won the McKitterick Prize,
the British Book Awards Book of the Year - Debut Fiction
and was a Times Bestseller.
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Ann Patchett's Tom Lake was a Sunday Times Bestseller.
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●
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International No.1 bestseller
Samantha Shannon's success with the 10th anniversary
reissue of The Bone
Season, alongside continued success of The Priory of the Orange Tree and
A Day of Fallen
Night.
|
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Poppy Cooks' The Actually Delicious Air Fryer
Cookbook was a Sunday
Times Bestseller.
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Tom Kerridge's Pub Kitchen was a Sunday Times Bestseller.
|
●
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Isabella Tree's The Book of Wilding was a Sunday Times Bestseller.
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●
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Peter Frankopan's The Earth Transformed was a No.2
Sunday Times Bestseller
and The Times Best History
Book of 2023.
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●
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Tan Twan Eng's The House of Doors was chosen as Book
of the Year 2023 by the Financial
Times, New
Statesman, New
Yorker and Washington
Post and was a Sunday
Times Bestseller.
|
●
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Ghosts: The Button House Archives companion book to the BBC TV series was an instant
Sunday Times
Bestseller.
|
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Kidada E. Williams' I Saw Death Coming was longlisted for
the US National Book Award in Non-fiction and shortlisted for the
Museum of African American History's Stone Book Award.
|
●
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Johann Hari's Stolen Focus was the winner of the
Porchlight Business Book Award, chosen as one of the best books of
the year by the Wall Street
Journal, Financial
Times, New York
Post and was a New York
Times Bestseller.
|
●
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Trang Thanh Tran's She is a Haunting was a New York Times Bestseller.
|
●
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Martha Mumford and Cherie
Zamazing's bestselling Bunny Adventures series in which we
published We're Going on a Ghost
Hunt and We're Going to a
Birthday Party in 2023.
|
Non-Consumer Division
The Non-Consumer division consists
of Academic & Professional, including BDR, and Special
Interest. Revenues in the division were £93.4m (2022/23: £97.4m).
Profit before taxation and highlighted items for the Non-Consumer
division was £9.9m (2022/23: £13.1m). Profit before taxation was
£5.3m (2022/23: £8.2m).
Non-Consumer Division: Academic
& Professional
Academic & Professional
revenues were £70.5m (2022/23: £75.7m) and profit before taxation
and highlighted items was £9.3m (2022/23: £12.4m). Profit before
taxation was £4.9m (2022/23: £7.8m).
Bloomsbury Academic focuses on
Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS), including Drama and Visual
Arts with a strong digital offering. Our strategy means that we
have been well placed to capitalise on the market growth, which was
particularly strong through the pandemic, as Academic Institutions
pivoted at pace to digital learning. As we communicated in the
2023/24 interim results, US Academic Institutions had received
one-off benefits of additional government funding during the
pandemic, a funding environment that has since normalised. BDR
revenue has grown from £6.3m in 2018/19 to £26.6m in 2023/24. While
the funding environment for Academic Institutions has evolved, we
remain confident in the structural shift to digital
learning.
BDR revenues were £26.6m with
growth of 2% (2022/23: 41%). Our BDR
growth strategy continues to build high margin, high quality,
repeatable digital revenue from our market leading Academic &
Professional IP. We reiterate our BDR target to reach c.£37m of
sales with 40% organic revenue growth over the five years to
2027/28.
Bloomsbury author Jon Fosse won
The Nobel Prize in Literature in 2023. We are proud to publish six
collections of his plays in the UK and US, making him the eighth
Nobel Prize winner on Bloomsbury's Methuen Drama list, joining
Peter Handke, Dario Fo, Toni Morrison, Wole Soyinka, Luigi
Pirandello, John Galsworthy and George Bernard Shaw.
Non-Consumer Division: Special
Interest
Special Interest revenue increased
by 6% to £22.9m (2022/23: £21.7m) and profit before taxation and
highlighted items was £0.6m (2022/23: £0.6m). Regular publications
such as Wisden Cricketers'
Almanack and Reeds
Nautical Almanac remain loved by enthusiasts.
Prizes include:
·
The 2023 Wainwright Prize for Nature Writing,
awarded to The Flow: Rivers,
Water and Wildness by Amy-Jane Beer.
·
Waterstones Best Books of 2023 in European
Politics, awarded to The War Came
To Us: Life and Death in Ukraine by Christopher
Miller.
·
Waterstones Best Book of 2023 in Sport, awarded
to 1923: The Mystery of Lot 212
and a Tour de France Obsession by Ned Boulting.
Cash and Financing
Bloomsbury's cash generation was
strong with cash at the year-end of £65.8m (2023: £51.5m) and cash
conversion increased to 110% (2022/23: 107%).
The Group has an unsecured
revolving credit facility with Lloyds Bank Plc. The facility comprises a committed revolving credit facility
of £20 million, and an uncommitted incremental term loan facility
of up to £20 million. At 29 February 2024, the Group had no
draw down (2023: £nil) of this facility.
Acquisitions
Bloomsbury has a successful track
record in strategic acquisitions, with 33 completed since
inception. We are actively targeting and assessing further
acquisition opportunities in line with our long-term growth
strategy, particularly in Academic.
Dividend
Bloomsbury has a progressive
dividend policy aiming to keep dividend earnings cover in excess of
two times, supported by strong cash cover. The Board is
recommending a final dividend of 10.99 pence per share, totalling
£9.0m. Together with the interim dividend, this makes a total
dividend for 2023/24 of 14.69 pence per share, a 25.0% increase on
the 11.75 pence value of the dividend for 2022/23 and a 36.8%
increase versus 2021/22.
Subject to Shareholder approval at
our AGM on 16 July 2024, the final dividend will be paid on 23
August 2024 to Shareholders on the register on the record date of
26 July 2024.
Including the proposed 2023/24
final dividend, over the past ten years, the dividend per share has
increased at a compound annual growth rate of 9.7%.
Future Publishing
Our publishing list for 2024/25 is
strong and includes:
·
Stuart Turton's The Last Murder at the End of the
World, published on 28 March 2024.
·
Johann Hari's new title Magic Pill: The Extraordinary Benefits and Disturbing
Risks of the New Weight Loss Drugs, published on 2 May
2024.
·
Samantha Shannon's new title The Mask Falling, the latest in the
Bone Season series,
published on 9 May 2024.
·
Gillian Anderson's new title Want to be published on 5 September
2024.
· The Golden Road: How
Ancient India Transformed the World by William Dalrymple, the co-host of the chart topping Empire
podcast, will be published on 12 September 2024.
·
Harry Potter: A new
illustrated gift book Christmas
at Hogwarts will be published on 15 October 2024, with text
drawn directly from Harry Potter
and the Philosopher's Stone.
·
Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's How to Eat 30 Plants A Week, published
on 9 May 2024.
·
Tom Kerridge
Cooks Britain, accompanying the TV
series, will be published on 6 June 2024.
·
The new Bunny Adventures book by Martha Mumford
and Cherie Zamazing Hooray! It's
our First Day will be published on 4 July 2024.
Bloomsbury 2030
Bloomsbury 2030 is the next stage
of our ambitious growth strategy. To achieve further success, we
will focus on our growth, our portfolio and our people. To drive
our growth, we will use our strong financial position to fund
further acquisitions focused on Academic and US opportunities with
digital potential. Within our portfolio, we aim to become the most
successful independent Academic publisher in Humanities and Social
Sciences, focusing on digital publishing and resources, as well as
building more brand authors and continuing to discover, nurture,
champion and retain high-quality authors and illustrators. Our
people goal is to be the best place to work in publishing through
an industry-leading focus on professional development programs,
training, systems and work practices.
Our strategy remains to invest in
high value intellectual property and digital channels, publish
works of excellence and originality, and grow our diversified
portfolio of content and services across our Consumer and Academic
Divisions alongside international market expansion to build quality
revenues and increase earnings.
Board Changes and Evaluation
As announced today, Sir Richard
Lambert has given notice of his intention to retire as Chairman and
step down as Director of the Company with effect from the
conclusion of the Annual General Meeting on 16 July 2024.
John Bason, current Independent Non-Executive Director, will
succeed Richard as Chairman, subject to re-election as director.
Nigel Newton commented, "Sir Richard Lambert has been an
exceptional Chairman over the last seven years. We are immensely
grateful for his insight, sage and generous counsel and support,
which have helped Bloomsbury achieve so much during his tenure.
Richard will be succeeded by John Bason, subject to shareholder
approval. John joined the Board two years ago and brings a depth of
financial and business knowledge to help Bloomsbury reach its
ambitious goals."
The Board conducts an annual
formal evaluation of its performance. For 2023/24, this was an
externally-facilitated evaluation, conducted by Value Alpha Ltd, an
independent advisory firm. The review's key findings were that
'Board and committee performance are strong; boardroom behaviours
are exemplary; the Board's governance approach successfully
delivers effective oversight; and, in overall terms, the Board's
performance and effectiveness is high.'
Current trading & Outlook
Trading for 2024/25 is expected to
be slightly ahead of the current consensus
expectation1.
Bloomsbury has six new books
contracted with Sarah J. Maas, as
announced in March 2023. We are not expecting to publish a new
title in the year ending 28 February 2025. Announcements regarding
any new publication date will be made by Bloomsbury in tandem with
Sarah J. Maas announcing the date to her readers.
The Board is confident in the
medium and long-term strategy for Consumer and investing in
Academic & Professional Publishing, with the benefits of
digital content. We continue to execute our strategy of
diversification across formats, territories and markets and our
portfolio of portfolios strategy. Our
authors, customers, consistent performance, and the scale and
resilience of our business continue to underpin the confidence we
have in the future.
Note
1. The
Board considers consensus market expectation (before this
publication) for the year ending 28 February 2025 to be revenue of
£283.6m and profit before taxation and highlighted items of
£35.4m.
Strategy Targets and Performance in 2023/24
Bloomsbury's long-term growth
strategy remains to invest in high value intellectual property and
digital channels, publish works of excellence and originality, and
grow our diversified portfolio of content and services across our
Consumer and Non-Consumer Divisions to build quality revenues and
increase earnings. Bloomsbury is committed to playing its part in
shaping a more sustainable, equitable and inclusive world, and this
commitment informs our strategic priorities. We are focused the following long-term strategic objectives to
deliver against our strategy:
·
Non-Consumer
o Goal:
Grow Bloomsbury's portfolio in Non-Consumer
publishing. Non-Consumer publishing is characterised by
higher, more predictable margins, is less reliant on retailers and
presents greater digital and global opportunities.
Achieved 2023/24: Delivered
£93.4m in Non-Consumer revenue.
o Goal:
BDR target to achieve 40% organic revenue growth
over the five years from 2022/23 to 2027/28, to reach c. £37m
turnover.
Achieved 2023/24: Delivered £26.6m
revenue and 322% growth over five years.
·
Consumer
o Goal:
Discover, nurture, champion and retain
high-quality authors and illustrators, while championing new ways
to leverage existing title rights.
Achieved 2023/24: Delivered 49%
growth in Consumer Division revenue.
Bestsellers included Katherine Rundell's
Impossible Creatures,
Louise Kennedy's Trespasses, Ann Patchett's
Tom Lake, Samantha
Shannon's 10th anniversary reissue of The Bone Season, The Priory of the Orange Tree and
A Day of Fallen Night and
Martha Mumford and Cherie Zamazing's Bunny Adventures
series.
o Goal:
Grow our key authors through effective publishing
across all formats alongside strategic sales and
marketing.
Achieved 2023/24:
161% growth in revenue from sales of Sarah J.
Maas titles. Sarah J. Maas' new title Crescent City: House of Flame and
Shadow became a global No.1 bestseller on publication on 30
January 2024 and drove sales in her backlist titles. Bloomsbury has
six new titles contracted.
o Goal:
As the originating publisher of J.K. Rowling's
Harry Potter series, ensure that new children discover and read it
for pleasure every year.
Achieved 2023/24: Harry Potter
title sales remain strong, 26 years after first publication.
Harry Potter and the
Philosopher's Stone was the UK's No.1 bestselling children's
book of the year for the first time since 2002. The Bloomsbury
conceived The Harry Potter
Wizarding Almanac was a No.1 Sunday Times bestseller and a No.1
New York Times
bestseller.
·
International
Expansion
o Goal:
Expand international revenues.
Continue our international growth and take
advantage of the biggest academic market in the US.
Achieved 2023/24: International
revenues increased to 77% of Group revenue
(2022/23: 73%). US revenues increased to 56% of Group revenue
(2022/23: 48%).
·
Employee
Experience and Engagement; Diversity, Equity and
Inclusion
Our success is driven by the
expertise, passion and commitment of our employees, highlighting
the importance of attracting, supporting and engaging them. We
value diversity of thought, perspectives and experience in shaping
our culture and strategy, driving our long-term success and
informing the ways in which we fulfil our
social purpose.
o Goal:
Be an attractive employer for individuals seeking
a career in publishing, regardless of background or identity,
adding cultural value to our business operations and
performance.
o Goal:
Focus on initiatives to create an environment
that promotes diversity, nurtures talent, stimulates creativity and
collaboration, supports well-being and is inclusive and respectful
of difference.
o Goal:
Implement Bloomsbury's Diversity, Equity and
Inclusion Action Plan.
Achieved 2023/24:
Won the Small Cap Network Diversity, Inclusivity
and Engagement Award
Achieved 2023/24: Bloomsbury
rolled out its Career Framework initiative to all employees in the
US and UK, a transparent and fair pay and grading structure
underpinning our reward scheme and career progression
programme.
Achieved 2023/24: All employees
received a one-off £1,250 payment to share in our exceptional
performance, in addition to the groupwide bonus scheme.
Achieved 2023/24: Delivered a new
comprehensive medical insurance plan for UK employees.
Achieved 2023/24:
Launched the Bloomsbury Writer's Mentorship
Programme, to support unpublished, underrepresented fiction
writers. The programme is open to people of colour, those from
lower socio-economic backgrounds, those living with a disability
and those from the LGBTQ+ community. Proving the importance of
integrating with this community, Bloomsbury received 800 entries in
the first year and announced its first winner, Alice McCusker, in
March 2024.
Achieved 2023/24: Launched the
Bloomsbury Academic Writing Fellowship, open to UK-based authors
and researchers with African or African Caribbean heritage, to
uncover new authors and give new voices a platform. This was
awarded to Fellow Tionne Alliyah Parris who will receive an
editorial mentorship, £1,000 financial support, practical resources
and event and networking opportunities.
Achieved 2023/24:
Launched the Academic & Professional Widening
Access Fund pilot, to provide financial support for authors who may
not otherwise be able to publish with us.
Achieved 2023/24: Official partner
of The Runnymede Trust's Lit in Colour initiative, supporting the
increase in students' access to books by writers of colour and
those from minority ethnic backgrounds, drawing on our
world-leading drama list from Methuen Drama. As official partner of
the Lit in Colour initiative, in November 2023 Bloomsbury launched
'The (Incomplete) Lit in Colour Play List' with 57 plays from an
eventual 172. Lit in Colour won Outstanding Drama Initiative 2024
at the Music and Drama Education Awards.
·
Sustainability
o Goal:
Maximise our use of sustainable resources while
seeking to reduce carbon emissions in line with our science-based
targets. We recognise our responsibility
to conserve the Earth's resources and we are committed to
monitoring and improving the environmental impact of our
operations.
Achieved 2023/24: Bloomsbury is
delighted to have received the IPG Sustainability Award and the
London Book Fair inaugural Sustainability Initiative
Award.
Achieved 2023/24: 77% reduction in
Scope 1 and 2 emissions in four years.
Achieved 2023/24:
Completed the CDP Climate Change questionnaire,
receiving the second highest score of B, demonstrating our
coordinated response to climate change.
Audited Consolidated Income
Statement
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 29 FEBRUARY
2024
|
|
Year ended
|
Year
ended
|
|
|
29
February
|
28
February
|
|
|
2024
|
2023
|
|
Notes
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
Revenue
|
2
|
342,651
|
264,102
|
Cost of sales
|
|
(148,062)
|
(119,191)
|
Gross profit
|
|
194,589
|
144,911
|
Marketing and distribution
costs
|
|
(49,769)
|
(32,529)
|
Administrative expenses
|
|
(104,171)
|
(86,551)
|
Share of result of joint
venture
|
|
(46)
|
(228)
|
Operating profit before highlighted items
|
|
47,856
|
31,286
|
Highlighted items
|
3
|
(7,253)
|
(5,683)
|
Operating profit
|
|
40,603
|
25,603
|
Finance income
|
|
1,300
|
270
|
Finance costs
|
|
(408)
|
(458)
|
Profit before taxation and highlighted
items
|
|
48,748
|
31,098
|
Highlighted items
|
3
|
(7,253)
|
(5,683)
|
Profit before taxation
|
|
41,495
|
25,415
|
Taxation
|
4
|
(9,200)
|
(5,171)
|
Profit for the year attributable to owners of the
Company
|
|
32,295
|
20,244
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Earnings per share attributable to owners of the
Company
|
|
|
|
Basic earnings per share
|
6
|
39.77p
|
24.94p
|
Diluted earnings per
share
|
6
|
39.11p
|
24.54p
|
Audited Consolidated Statement of
Comprehensive Income
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 29 FEBRUARY
2024
|
Year ended
|
Year
ended
|
|
29
February
|
28
February
|
|
2024
|
2023
|
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
Profit for the year
|
32,295
|
20,244
|
Other comprehensive income
|
|
|
Items that may be reclassified to the income
statement:
|
|
|
Exchange differences on translating
foreign operations
|
(4,677)
|
7,464
|
Items that may not be reclassified to the income
statement:
|
|
|
Remeasurements on the defined
benefit pension scheme
|
17
|
-
|
Other comprehensive income for the
year net of tax
|
(4,660)
|
7,464
|
Total comprehensive income for the year attributable to the
owners of the Company
|
27,635
|
27,708
|
Items in the statement above are
disclosed net of tax.
Audited Consolidated Statement of Financial
Position
AS AT 29 FEBRUARY
2024
|
|
29
February
|
28
February
|
|
|
2024
|
2023
|
|
Notes
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
Assets
|
|
|
|
Goodwill
|
|
48,309
|
48,656
|
Other intangible assets
|
|
31,966
|
38,243
|
Property, plant and
equipment
|
|
2,203
|
2,503
|
Right-of-use assets
|
|
7,559
|
9,126
|
Deferred tax assets
|
|
13,692
|
7,928
|
Trade and other
receivables
|
7
|
790
|
934
|
Total non-current assets
|
|
104,519
|
107,390
|
|
|
|
|
Inventories
|
|
36,678
|
43,364
|
Trade and other
receivables
|
7
|
164,796
|
112,819
|
Cash and cash equivalents
|
|
65,750
|
51,540
|
Total current assets
|
|
267,224
|
207,723
|
Total assets
|
|
371,743
|
315,113
|
|
|
|
|
Liabilities
|
|
|
|
Deferred tax liabilities
|
|
2,693
|
3,115
|
Lease liabilities
|
|
6,516
|
8,570
|
Provisions
|
|
534
|
334
|
Total non-current liabilities
|
|
9,743
|
12,019
|
|
|
|
|
Trade and other
liabilities
|
|
151,979
|
111,620
|
Lease liabilities
|
|
2,388
|
2,082
|
Current tax liabilities
|
|
4,025
|
790
|
Provisions
|
|
1,157
|
764
|
Total current liabilities
|
|
159,549
|
115,256
|
Total liabilities
|
|
169,292
|
127,275
|
Net
assets
|
|
202,451
|
187,838
|
|
|
|
|
Equity
|
|
|
|
Share capital
|
|
1,020
|
1,020
|
Share premium
|
|
47,319
|
47,319
|
Translation reserve
|
|
10,914
|
15,591
|
Other reserves
|
|
12,801
|
10,870
|
Retained earnings
|
|
130,397
|
113,038
|
Total equity attributable to owners of the
Company
|
|
202,451
|
187,838
|
Audited Consolidated Statement of
Changes in Equity
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 29 FEBRUARY
2024
|
Share
capital £'000
|
Share
premium £'000
|
Translation reserve
£'000
|
Merger reserve £'000
|
Capital
redemption reserve
£'000
|
Share-based payment reserve £'000
|
Own
shares held by EBT £'000
|
Retained
earnings £'000
|
Total
equity £'000
|
At
28 February 2022
|
1,020
|
47,319
|
8,127
|
1,803
|
22
|
9,492
|
(2,552)
|
103,738
|
168,969
|
Profit for the year
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
20,244
|
20,244
|
Other comprehensive income
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Exchange differences on translating
foreign operations
|
-
|
-
|
7,464
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
7,464
|
Total comprehensive income for the year
|
-
|
-
|
7,464
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
20,244
|
27,708
|
Transactions with owners
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dividends to equity holders of the
Company
Purchase of shares by the Employee
Benefit Trust
|
-
-
|
-
-
|
-
-
|
-
-
|
-
-
|
-
-
|
-
(1,669)
|
(8,752)
-
|
(8,752)
(1,669)
|
Share options exercised
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
2,539
|
(2,273)
|
266
|
Deferred tax on share-based payment
transactions
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
81
|
81
|
Share-based payment
transactions
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
1,235
|
-
|
-
|
1,235
|
Total transactions with owners of the
Company
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
1,235
|
870
|
(10,944)
|
(8,839)
|
At
28 February 2023
|
1,020
|
47,319
|
15,591
|
1,803
|
22
|
10,727
|
(1,682)
|
113,038
|
187,838
|
Profit for the year
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
32,295
|
32,295
|
Other comprehensive income
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Exchange differences on translating
foreign operations
|
-
|
-
|
(4,677)
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
(4,677)
|
Remeasurements on the defined
benefit pension scheme
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
17
|
17
|
Total comprehensive income for the year
|
-
|
-
|
(4,677)
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
32,312
|
27,635
|
Transactions with owners
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dividends to equity holders of the
Company
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
(11,348)
|
(11,348)
|
Purchase of shares by the Employee
Benefit Trust
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
(2,814)
|
-
|
(2,814)
|
Share options exercised
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
3,732
|
(3,321)
|
411
|
Share options cancelled
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
(636)
|
(636)
|
Deferred tax on share-based payment
transactions
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
(205)
|
(205)
|
Share-based payment
transactions
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
1,013
|
-
|
557
|
1,570
|
Total transactions with owners of the
Company
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
1,013
|
918
|
(14,953)
|
(13,022)
|
At
29 February 2024
|
1,020
|
47,319
|
10,914
|
1,803
|
22
|
11,740
|
(764)
|
130,397
|
202,451
|
Audited Consolidated Statement of Cash
Flows
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 29 FEBRUARY
2024
|
Year ended
29
February
2024
£'000
|
Year ended
28
February
2023
£'000
|
Cash flows from operating activities
|
|
|
Profit for the year
|
32,295
|
20,244
|
Adjustments for:
|
|
|
Depreciation of property, plant and
equipment
|
852
|
659
|
Depreciation of right-of-use
assets
|
2,052
|
2,114
|
Amortisation of intangible
assets
|
10,434
|
9,687
|
Loss on disposal of property, plant
and equipment
|
157
|
13
|
Loss on disposal on intangible
assets
|
169
|
107
|
Finance income
|
(1,300)
|
(270)
|
Finance costs
|
408
|
458
|
Share of loss of joint
venture
|
46
|
228
|
Share-based payment
charges
|
1,807
|
1,601
|
Tax expense
|
9,200
|
5,171
|
|
56,120
|
40,012
|
Decrease/(increase) in
inventories
|
4,927
|
(7,557)
|
(Increase) in trade and other
receivables
|
(54,383)
|
(3,226)
|
Increase in trade and other
liabilities
|
43,881
|
4,033
|
Cash generated from operating activities
|
50,545
|
33,262
|
Income taxes paid
|
(12,929)
|
(6,640)
|
Net
cash generated from operating activities
|
37,616
|
26,622
|
Cash flows from investing activities
|
|
|
Purchase of property, plant and
equipment
|
(737)
|
(818)
|
Purchase of intangible
assets
Purchase of business, net of cash
acquired
|
(5,097)
-
|
(5,165)
(72)
|
Purchase of rights to
assets
|
-
|
(633)
|
Purchase of share in a joint
venture
Interest received
|
(46)
|
(183)
|
1,266
|
253
|
Net
cash used in investing activities
|
(4,614)
|
(6,618)
|
Cash flows from financing activities
|
|
|
Equity dividends paid
Purchase of shares by the Employee
Benefit Trust
Proceeds from exercise of share
options
|
(11,348)
(2,814)
411
|
(8,752)
(1,669)
266
|
Cancellations of share
options
|
(636)
|
-
|
Repayment of lease
liabilities
|
(2,219)
|
(2,226)
|
Lease liabilities interest
paid
|
(325)
|
(390)
|
Net
cash used in financing activities
|
(16,931)
|
(12,771)
|
Net
increase in cash and cash equivalents
|
16,071
|
7,233
|
Cash and cash equivalents at
beginning of year
|
51,540
|
41,226
|
Exchange (loss)/gain on cash and
cash equivalents
|
(1,861)
|
3,081
|
Cash and cash equivalents at end of year
|
65,750
|
51,540
|
NOTES
1. Accounting
policies
a) Basis of Preparation
The financial information set out
above does not constitute the Company's statutory accounts for the
years ended 29 February 2024 or 28 February 2023 but is derived
from those accounts. Statutory accounts for 2023 have been
delivered to the registrar of companies, and those for 2024 will be
delivered in due course. The auditor has reported on those
accounts; their reports were (i) unqualified, (ii) did not include
a reference to any matters to which the auditor drew attention by
way of emphasis without qualifying their report and (iii) did not
contain a statement under section 498 (2) or (3) of the Companies
Act 2006.
The Group financial statements were
prepared in accordance with UK-adopted international accounting
standards and the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.
Except as described below, the accounting policies applied in the
year ended 29 February 2024 are consistent with those applied in
the financial statements for year ended 28 February 2023 with the
exception of a number of new accounting standards and amendments
which have not had a material impact on the Group's
results.
b) Going
concern
The Directors have a reasonable
expectation that the Group has adequate resources to continue in
operational existence at least 12 months from the date of this
preliminary announcement, being the period of the detailed going
concern assessment reviewed by the Board, and therefore continue to
adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the
condensed consolidated financial statements.
The Board has modelled a severe but
plausible downside scenario. This assumes:
·
Print revenues are reduced by 20% during
2024/2025, with recovery during 2025/2026;
·
Digital revenues are reduced by 20% during
2024/2025, with recovery during 2025/2026;
·
Print costs are increased by 2% from 2024/2025 and
staff costs are increased by 2% from 2025/2026;
·
Downside assumptions about extended debtor days
during 2024/2025, with recovery during 2025/2026;
·
Cash preservation measures implemented and
variable costs reduced.
At 29 February 2024, the Group had
available liquidity of £85.8 million, comprising central cash
balances and its undrawn £20.0 million Revolving Credit Facility
("RCF"). The RCF agreement is to November 2026. Under the severe
but plausible downside scenario, the Group would maintain
sufficient liquidity headroom even before modelling the mitigating
effect of actions that management would take in the event that
these downside risks were to crystallise.
The Group has an unsecured
revolving credit facility with Lloyds Bank Plc. At 29 February
2024, the Group had £nil draw down (2023: £nil) of this facility
with £20.0 million of undrawn borrowing facilities (2023: £10.0
million) available.
The facility comprises a committed
revolving credit facility of £20 million, and an uncommitted
incremental term loan facility of up to £20 million. The facilities
are subject to two covenants, being a maximum net debt to EBITDA
ratio of 2.5x and a minimum interest cover covenant of
4x.
2. Revenue and segmental
analysis
The Group is comprised of two
worldwide publishing divisions: Consumer and Non-Consumer,
reflecting the core customers for our different operations. The
Consumer division is split into two operating segments: Children's
Trade and Adult Trade, and Non-Consumer is split into two operating
segments: Academic & Professional and Special
Interest.
Each reportable segment represents
a cash-generating unit for the purpose of impairment testing. We
have allocated goodwill between reportable segments. These
divisions are the basis on which the Group primarily reports its
segment information. Segments derive their revenue from book
publishing, sale of publishing and distribution rights, management
and other publishing services.
The analysis by segment is shown
below: