Sarah J. Maas Sales Boost Bloomsbury Profits as Publisher Increases Guidance

Bloomsbury Publishing has raised its annual outlook after sales of Sarah J. Maas’ fantasy novels doubled in the first half.

The FTSE 250 company’s board had previously expected the group to make £319.3m in revenue and £37.5m in profit before tax and items in the year to February 2025.

For the six months to the end of August, the London-listed company reported that turnover rose by around a third to £179.8m, its best first-half result on record.

Book purchases by Maas, author of the Throne of Glass series, skyrocketed 102 percent following the publication of her new Crescent City novel, House of Flame and Shadow.

JK Rowling’s Harry Potter books also continued to sell well, and Bloomsbury predicts that an upcoming streaming series based on the anthology will boost sales further.

A television adaptation of The Three-Body Problem, a series of science fiction novels written by Ciu Liuxin, boosted the company’s business after its release on Netflix in March.

Other best-selling Bloomsbury books in the recent period included Greekish by Georgina Hayden, Tom Lake by Ann Patchett and How to Eat 30 Plants a Week by celebrity chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.

A strong result from its consumer division offset more subdued trading in the academic and professional sector, which the group attributed to “budgetary pressures” across the UK and US.

Many old market educational institutions have been hit financially by the introduction of new rules banning most overseas students from bringing dependents to the UK.

In the latter case, declining male enrollment, partly due to rising wages and living costs, has put pressure on the number of workers in small and medium-sized establishments.

However, the acquisition of academic publisher Rowman & Littlefield helped revenue at Bloomsbury’s non-consumer division rise 3 per cent to £48.5m.

The FTSE 250 business recorded its fifth consecutive double-digit percentage growth in sales in the first half, while pre-tax profits rose 58 per cent to £22.1m.

Iain Daly, chief executive of brokerage H2Radnor, said: “The portfolio effect within the group has maintained momentum within consumer and more than offset a challenging budget environment within the academic market.”

After that, Bloomsbury Publishing shares rose 9.1 per cent to £7.44 at midday, making them one of the best performers on the FTSE All-Share index on Wednesday.

Since the trading period ended, Bloomsbury has launched more bestsellers, including Henry V by Dan Jones, Want by actress Gillian Anderson and Seriously British: A Frenchman’s love letter to Britain by Fred Sirieix.