Bloomsbury Publishing H1 Earnings Call Highlights

Key Points

• Bloomsbury expects record full-year profit for fiscal 2026/27, supported by a stronger second-half consumer publishing schedule. First-half revenue was £151.6 million, adjusted profit was £16.8 million, and the dividend rose 5% after 31 consecutive years of growth.
• Consumer performance is expected to accelerate with new Sarah J. Maas novels and renewed Harry Potter demand linked to the upcoming HBO Max series. The company said recent sales trends were encouraging and that major retailers had placed substantial orders.
• Academic and Professional revenue rose 6% organically to £48.8 million, while net cash improved to £22.8 million. Bloomsbury is pursuing Asian expansion, additional AI licensing opportunities and potential bolt-on acquisitions, although current-year AI income is expected to be lower.

Bloomsbury Publishing LON: BMY said it expects to deliver record profit for its 2026/27 financial year in line with market expectations, supported by a second-half consumer publishing slate featuring new Sarah J. Maas titles and anticipated demand tied to the upcoming Harry Potter television series.

Executive Chairman Nigel Newton said the publisher’s diversification across consumer, academic and professional publishing had created a “resilient model for long-term success.” The company reported first-half revenue of £151.6 million, adjusted profit of £16.8 million and an adjusted profit margin of 11.1%. Earnings per share were 16.67 pence.

Bloomsbury also increased its dividend by 5%, extending what Newton described as 31 years of uninterrupted dividend growth since the company’s 1994 flotation. Net cash stood at £22.8 million at the end of August, compared with £2.4 million a year earlier.

Consumer performance weighted toward second half

Chief Financial and Operating Officer Keith Underwood said Consumer division revenue and profit were “slightly lighter” in the first half as expected, with the business positioned for a stronger second half. He said sales in September and October had been encouraging and strong.

The company is preparing to publish two new novels in Sarah J. Maas’ A Court of Thorns and Roses series: A Court of Splintered Harmony, due the following week, and A Court of Forgotten Melody, scheduled for January. Newton said marketing activity around the releases was substantial, involving both Bloomsbury and retailers.

Newton said U.S. retailer Target was planning a Sarah J. Maas-themed in-store boutique centered on the new release and related merchandise. He also cited promotional efforts from other retailers, including pallet displays and customer incentives. The company said Maas’ backlist was already benefiting from anticipation around the new books, with one title returning to the top 10 of The New York Times bestseller list.

Bloomsbury also expects the Harry Potter catalogue to receive support from a new HBO Max streaming series, which Newton said was due to begin on Christmas Day. The publisher has secured significant orders from major U.K. supermarkets and is introducing a tie-in edition with a new jacket design. Newton said Bloomsbury holds English-language Harry Potter rights worldwide except in the United States, including Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

Other recent Consumer titles cited by the company included Gillian Anderson’s More and Stephen Graham’s Letters to Our Sons, both of which reached bestseller lists.

Academic and Professional division posts underlying growth

The Academic and Professional division generated revenue of £48.8 million in the first half, up around 6% on an underlying basis excluding artificial-intelligence licensing income. Profit in the division was £6.8 million.

Underwood said the unit achieved underlying growth in all territories and formats, with print sales rising more than 30%. He said the performance reflected continued demand for the company’s academic content across both print and digital formats.

The company said it had opened a Singapore office to serve as a hub for expansion in Asia, where it sees growth in student numbers. Bloomsbury is developing an Asia studies digital resource for its Bloomsbury Digital Resources platform and is pursuing publishing partnerships with major Chinese publishers following meetings at the Beijing International Book Fair.

Newton said the company had seen a recovery in academic markets following what he described as disruption from political interference in the U.S. and U.K. He added that student numbers in Asia were growing rapidly, supporting the rationale for the Singapore operation.

AI licensing, cash generation and capital allocation

Underwood said Bloomsbury’s academic intellectual property enabled it to continue a non-exclusive AI licensing agreement into the current financial year. The contribution is expected to be lower than in fiscal 2026, resulting in a lower margin, but the company expects further income from the partnership in the second half and into fiscal 2028.

He said Bloomsbury was also in discussions with other parties over training agreements and specialist retrieval-augmented generation, or RAG, arrangements in the Academic and Professional market.

Regarding the Anthropic settlement process, Underwood said Bloomsbury was working through the dispute process with the settlement administrator. He said the company continued to expect a “double-digit million” settlement, though he did not prejudge the outcome. The company confirmed that any settlement proceeds were not included in consensus cash forecasts.

Working-capital improvements helped lift net cash, according to Underwood. He pointed to lower finished-stock balances, more disciplined print-run management and the use of AI to improve print-run forecasting. Bloomsbury expects cash to decline in the third quarter before rising in the fourth quarter ahead of royalty payments in March.

The company said its capital-allocation priorities remain internal growth investment, debt reduction and bolt-on acquisitions. Underwood said Bloomsbury was actively evaluating acquisition opportunities that could support revenue and margin growth.

Portfolio review and audio growth

Underwood said the company was reviewing operations within its Consumer division to improve margins. Sale processes for the Who’s Who business and the Games division were continuing, he said.

Newton also highlighted growth in audiobooks, citing Spotify’s expansion into the category as well as sales through other customers including Apple. “We see nothing but growth coming from that market,” he said.

Management concluded that a strong second-half publication schedule, improving academic performance and the company’s cash position underpin its confidence in achieving record profit for the full year.

About Bloomsbury Publishing (LON:BMY)

Bloomsbury Publishing Plc publishes academic, educational, and general fiction and non-fiction books for children, teachers, students, researchers, and professionals worldwide. The company offers books and digital resources to international research community and higher education students; online law, accounting, and tax services for the United Kingdom and professionals; and publishing services for corporations and institutions. It serves communities of interest in sports and sports science, nautical, military history, natural history, arts and crafts, and popular science; and offers books for students of the arts, humanities, and social sciences.

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