Harry Potter publisher Bloomsbury has raked in record annual sales after readers ‘rediscovered books’ during the pandemic.
The British firm said strong demand for fantasy, cookery and ‘social inclusion’ titles lifted revenues from £162.8m to £185.1m in the year to February 28.
Wizarding World: Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Its cheery update sent shares surging 11.3 per cent, or 35p, higher to 344p.
Chief executive Nigel Newton said the popularity of reading under lockdown had been ‘a ray of sunshine in an otherwise very dark year’, adding: ‘People have rediscovered the role of books in their lives.’
Sales of JK Rowling’s popular Harry Potter books rose by 7 per cent. And young adult fantasy writer Sarah J Maas’s books notched up a 129 per cent rise in sales. Her latest – A Court of Silver Flames – came out in February.
Bloomsbury delivered record profits too – up from £13.2m to £17.3m. It now expects revenue and profits to be ‘comfortably ahead’ of market expectations of £177.5m and £17.4m respectively in the current financial year.
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