BOOM times are back at Harry Potter book publisher Bloomsbury — thanks to fantasy fiction writer Sarah J Maas.
The company said profits and revenues will be higher than expected as readers snap up her latest novel, House of Flame and Shadow.
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It was a chart-topper in the UK, US, Australia and elsewhere, and boosted sales of the author’s previous 15 books.
Shares in the firm climbed 7 per cent yesterday.
Bloomsbury has six more titles in the pipeline as part of its contract with Maas, who has been with them for more than a decade.
The fantasy and sci-fi genre has grown by more than 50 per cent in the UK in the last five years, according to Nielsen Bookscan.
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Harry Potter remains one of Bloomsbury’s best-selling series.
Top sellers recenty included gift book The Harry Potter Wizarding Almanac.
Other recent bestsellers include Ghosts, the companion book to the BBC series, and Pub Kitchen by Tom Kerridge.
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Dun good
THOUSANDS of price cuts helped half-year profits at homeware retailer Dunelm climb almost five per cent to £123million.
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It warned “the consumer outlook remains uncertain” but said it can appeal to customers because it has “a tight grip on operating costs”.
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Boss Nick Wilkinson told The Sun: “We actually reduced a couple of thousand prices this time last year and in the summer.”
Sales climbed 4.5 per cent in the six months to the end of December as the average price for an item fell slightly to just £14.
On a volume basis — number of items — sales climbed six per cent.
Mr Wilkinson said he was pleased with the “wide variety” of new customers, while existing shoppers returned “more frequently”.
The chain employs more than 11,000 workers, with four new stores opening in six months — taking its total to 183.
It is hoping to open another four this year and the same again next year, with a focus on London and Scotland, where it has gaps in its coverage.
It pleased shareholders by announcing a £71million special dividend of 35p per share, to be paid in April.
It said it is on track for full-year profit expectations of £202million in 2023-24.
Analyst AJ Bell of Russ Mould said: “The steady performance is impressive given the pressures on household budgets in the UK. It suggests that the company is getting the balance right on pricing, quality and product.”
A Lyft from blooper
SHARES in ride-hailing firm Lyft soared more than 60 per cent on Tuesday after it made a crucial mistake in results.
Lyft said margins would grow by “500 basis points” or 5 per cent, when it should have said 50 basis points, or 0.5 per cent.
The shares fell when bosses confessed.
But the shares still ended up 16 per cent higher on news that cost-cutting had been successful.
Lyft axed 1,200 workers and cut costs by 12 per cent last year.
£4k fall in house prices
THE average UK house price fell £4,000 last year, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics.
It is a drop of almost £11 a day.
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The typical house price in December 2023 was £285,000, 1.4 per cent lower than 2022.
It also marked the sixth consecutive month of price falls.
Property values fell annually by 2.1 per cent in England and by 2.5 per cent in Wales, but they climbed by 3.3 per cent in Scotland and by 1.4 per cent in Northern Ireland.
Meanwhile, London was the worse hit in the UK with house prices slumping 4.8 per cent.
Propertymark’s Nathan Emerson said the housing market has been through a disruptive period.
He said: “It means people cannot afford homes in the same way they can during a period of economic growth.”
Private rental prices paid by tenants also rose by 6.2 per cent in the year to January.
Virgin in buyout
FIVE years after linking with Abrdn to launch an investment business, high street bank Virgin Money is splashing out £20million to buy the fund manager firm out.
Virgin Money Investments looks after around £3.7billion-worth of customer assets and has more than 150,000 customer accounts.
Virgin Money, which has about 6.6 million UK customers, said the deal would help it achieve its growth ambitions.
Shares fizz up
COCA-COLA’S European bottling business saw its shares climb almost 8 per cent yesterday after it posted record profits of £815million.
Coca-Cola HBC said revenue grew 17 per cent in the past year as there was big demand for its energy drinks and coffee products.
It raised its dividend by a fifth after initially predicting that its revenues would increase by 7 per cent this year.
It said future growth will be boosted by its £153million purchase of Finlandia Vodka in November.
HMRC has told taxpayers to beware of bogus tax refund offers.
In the year to January it received 207,800 referrals from the public about suspicious emails, texts or calls.
The number of reports was up 14 per cent over the previous year.
£25m rainy cut
THE series of storms last year will leave North West water supplier United Utilities £25million worse off, it said.
High rainfall hit its performance, meaning it will get a smaller service payment from water regulator Ofwat.
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The firm said: “Since the start of 2023, there have been 14 named storms, of which nine have occurred since the end of September.”
But the water company will still receive a £40million Ofwat payment that rewards companies for providing good service to customers.
