Name: Bloomsbury Publishing: Highest ever sales and profit for the publisher that’s a joy to manage
Uploaded: 2023-01-19T19:07:27.832520+00:00
Duration: 928 s
Channel: Master Investor

Master Investor

As it approaches its 36th birthday, Nigel Newton CBE the founder and chief executive of Bloomsbury Publishing PLC (LON:BMY), says the publisher has "Never been a more fun company to run and to work at."
 
One of the reasons for that he says is: "Success breeds success, and this 41% growth in sales that we’ve seen over the last two years and 70% increase in profits is a joy to manage."
 
Newton says that the reading habit re-engaged with during lockdown has been "permanently reacquired" and that the company is trading in line with management expectations which he says are "high expectations."
 
He talks not only about the joy of management but at the core of the business the joy of reading aiding those who are now pursuing hobbies that are well serviced by books.  
 
Bloomsbury, says Newton, is an unusual publisher describing it as half general, half academic which is platform agnostic selling authors’ works in hardback, paperback and e-book and as an audio book download. "We promote the story and leave the decision to how to consume it to the reader."
 
It is also the leading publisher of ornithology and sailing and one of the lead publishers for baking.  At its most fundamental level, says Newton, books are filling a new information need and there’s reading itself for 'escape, enlightenment and entertainment.'
 
Bloomsbury is also a beneficiary of the self-publishing phenomenon with many of its authors starting out on that route including internationally renowned fantasy writer Sarah J Maas, who is also much recommended by the TikTok subcommunity #BookTok which has had over 60 billion interactions as of June 2022.
 
Beloved by readers, Newton says that the company's dividend policy makes it much beloved too by investors particularly growth funds in the city.

As it approaches its 36th birthday, Nigel Newton CBE the founder and chief executive of Bloomsbury Publishing PLC (LON:BMY), says the publisher has "Never been a more fun company to run and to work at." One of the reasons for that he says is: "Success breeds success, and this 41% growth in sales that we’ve seen over the last two years and 70% increase in profits is a joy to manage." Newton says that the reading habit re-engaged with during lockdown has been "permanently reacquired" and that the company is trading in line with management expectations which he says are "high expectations." He talks not only about the joy of management but at the core of the business the joy of reading aiding those who are now pursuing hobbies that are well serviced by books. Bloomsbury, says Newton, is an unusual publisher describing it as half general, half academic which is platform agnostic selling authors’ works in hardback, paperback and e-book and as an audio book download. "We promote the story and leave the decision to how to consume it to the reader." It is also the leading publisher of ornithology and sailing and one of the lead publishers for baking. At its most fundamental level, says Newton, books are filling a new information need and there’s reading itself for 'escape, enlightenment and entertainment.' Bloomsbury is also a beneficiary of the self-publishing phenomenon with many of its authors starting out on that route including internationally renowned fantasy writer Sarah J Maas, who is also much recommended by the TikTok subcommunity #BookTok which has had over 60 billion interactions as of June 2022. Beloved by readers, Newton says that the company's dividend policy makes it much beloved too by investors particularly growth funds in the city.

About Bloomsbury Publishing

Bloomsbury Publishing's post-pandemic sales

Bloomsbury Publishing's business model

Bloomsbury Publishing's biggest threat to its business model

Bloomsbury Publishing's outlook for shareholders

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Sarah Lowther quizzes Nigel Newton CBE, CEO of Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, about the publisher's performance over the past two years. Bloomsbury Publishing was one of the beneficiaries of the Covid pandemic, when the population turned to reading, among other things. The publisher is listed on the Main Market and has a market cap of £321 million as of June 2022.

Bloomsbury Publishing's sales figures in March-May 2022 have continued to achieve the high pandemic lockdown levels. The company attributes this result to a fundamental reassessment and permanent shift in peoples' use of time; books serve to meet information needs, and help to provide an escape route. Alongside J.K. Rowling, whose Harry Potter books have seen a real boost during the pandemic, Sarah J. Maas has established herself as one of Bloomsbury Publishing's top authors.

As a platform-agnostic publisher, Bloomsbury Publishing does not have separate divisions for digital and print. Instead, its academic publishing division contains "Bloomsbury Digital Resources", which cover a range of high-level topics such as history, drama, architecture or philosophy.

Bloomsbury Publishing does not see authors self-publishing as a threat to its business model. Instead, these authors are considered a market research vehicle; once they amass a high following (such as Sarah J. Maas), they often approach publishers to help deliver the markets.

The dividend represent Bloomsbury Publishing's greatest reward to shareholders; over the past 25 years, there has been a constant increase in the dividend. Shareholders are also given discounts on the company's publications.