* Bloomsbury earnings surge on lockdown-driven reading
* Expects current year results to exceed market view
* Shares jump 6% in early trade
(Adds CEO comments from call, share move)
By Muvija M
June 2 (Reuters) - Bloomsbury said on Wednesday a
renewed love for reading during the pandemic was here to stay,
as the Harry Potter publisher predicted continued strong
earnings from higher sales of cookbooks and fantasy novels.
London-based Bloomsbury has upgraded its targets multiple
times this year, thanks to what it called "an exceptional sales
performance" in its consumer division for both adult and
children's publishing.
"I think that it is the (reading) habit itself which may
have become permanent as people have rediscovered the role of
books in their lives," Chief Executive Nigel Newton told Reuters
after the company posted a 22% surge in annual earnings and set
a special dividend.
"It is across the board, from the inspiration for recipes to
the escapism, which great novels give, to books about exercise
and meditation have become relevant to people. As the pandemic
recedes, we will never return to exactly the world we had
before."
Profit before tax and highlighted items rose to 19.2 million
pounds ($27.17 million) in the 12 months to Feb. 28 from 15.7
million pounds, with revenue jumping 14% to 185.1 million
pounds.
Shares jumped 6.5% to 329 pence in morning trading, after it
proposed a special dividend of 9.78 pence and a 10% rise in its
final dividend.
Bloomsbury also expects fiscal 2021-2022 results to be
comfortably ahead of market estimates, which call for revenue of
177.5 million pounds and profit of 17.4 million pounds.
"Bloomsbury faced a painful transition following its
mid-noughties peak at the height of Pottermania but it is no
longer a one-hit wonder with a diverse list of bestsellers in
its portfolio," AJ Bell analyst Danni Hewson said.
Newton said people have been piling into shops and buying
books since the reopening.
Some of Bloomsbury's other top titles include "Court of
Silver Flames," a fantasy novel by Sarah J Maas.
($1 = 0.7066 pounds)
(Reporting by Muvija M and Sachin Ravikumar in Bengaluru;
Editing by Devika Syamnath and Bernadette Baum)