Press releases & announcements

21st September 2004

Interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2004

• Turnover up 6.7% to £30.94m (2003, £29.00m)
  
• Pre-tax profit before goodwill amortisation and exceptional gain increased 4.5% to £3.72m (2003, £3.56m)
  
• Basic earnings per share before goodwill amortisation and exceptional gain increased 2.5% to 3.74p (2003, 3.65p)
  
• Interim dividend up 10.1% to 0.522p (2003, 0.474p)
  
• Good progress made in improving operational efficiencies and identifying new revenue opportunities
  
  • International publishing programme producing clear benefits. Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell has hit Number 3 on The New York Times bestseller list and Schott’s Original Miscellany Number 9 on the Der Spiegel bestseller list in Germany.
    
  • Investment in children’s list continues with the introduction of a baby and pre-school lists and the expansion of the picture book and fiction lists
    
  • Outsourcing of A&C Black distribution now complete and operating smoothly
    
• Strong second half and 2005 publishing lists
  
• Well positioned for further growth. Board confident of a satisfactory outcome to the year
  

Commenting on the results and prospects for Bloomsbury, Nigel Newton, Chairman, said:

“With the groundwork laid in the first half, Bloomsbury is entering a very busy phase for the second half of 2004 and into 2005. The Group is benefiting from a number of publishing initiatives undertaken in recent years and all of our divisions have strong publishing programmes with advance orders indicating that we could potentially have a number of bestsellers, particularly Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell. We have now clearly developed strong revenue streams in both the UK and internationally. Consequently, the Board remains confident of a satisfactory outcome to the year and beyond into 2005.”

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