Harry Potter publisher Bloomsbury sees annual profit in line with market view

Oct 26 (Reuters) – Bloomsbury Publishing (BLPU.L) on Thursday forecast its full-year results to come in line with market expectations, after the Harry Potter publisher reported a higher first-half profit, buoyed by strong demand for its novels and academic resources.
The publisher, best known for picking up J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series in 1997 after its rejection by a dozen others, said it was benefiting from diversifying into digital learning along with resilient demand for its popular fantasy novels.
“Results demonstrate the strength of our strategy of publishing for both the consumer and academic markets,” CEO Nigel Newton said in a statement.
Full-year profit before tax and highlighted items is expected to be in line with average analyst expectations of 32.5 million pounds ($39.26 million), according to a company-compiled consensus.
The London-listed publisher reported profit before tax and highlighted items of 17.7 million pounds for the six-month period ended August, compared with 15.9 million pounds a year earlier.
Bloomsbury also raised its interim dividend to 3.70 pence per share, compared with 1.41 pence in the year-ago period.
($1 = 0.8280 pounds)
Reporting by Aatrayee Chatterjee and Prerna Bedi in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips
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