(Adds details from statement, estimates)
March 24 (Reuters) - Harry Potter publisher Bloomsbury
said on Wednesday profit for fiscal year 2020 will be
significantly above market expectations as people bought more
books during pandemic lockdowns.
"The popularity of reading during lockdown is a ray of
sunshine in an otherwise very dark last year," Chief Executive
Nigel Newton said, adding that February, the final month of its
financial year, saw exceptional sales.
Shares jumped 12% to 291 pence by 0807 GMT in light volumes
on the FTSE small-cap index.
London-based Bloomsbury said sales were strong in its
consumer division, which includes Harry Potter, while its
digital academic content has also seen increased demand for
remote access to learning materials.
The publisher said its long term expectations remain
unchanged and it did not know if consumer behaviour will change
after academic institutions reopen and leisure activities ramp
up.
Britain, which is currently under a third national lockdown,
has published a roadmap to get the country gradually out of
restrictions, with schools reopening in early March while
universities are yet to welcome back students at full capacity.
Bloomsbury said it returned 63,000 pounds of furlough
funding it received from the government and repaid temporary
salary reductions for staff.
The company said full-year profit would be significantly
ahead of market expectations, which was upgraded in January.
The current consensus estimates for revenue is 171 million
pounds and profit before tax of 14.8 million pounds, the company
said. Bloomsbury had reported revenue of 162.8 million pounds
and profit before tax of 15.7 million pounds for 2019.
(Reporting by Chris Peters & Muvija M in Bengaluru; Editing by
Arun Koyyur)