(Adds share price, analyst quote)
By Sachin Ravikumar
Jan 26 (Reuters) - Bloomsbury Publishing expects
annual profit and revenue to top market expectations, led by
strong sales of literature across all age groups, the Harry
Potter publisher said on Wednesday.
The outlook follows a record half-year profit boosted by
lockdown reading during pandemic restrictions and earlier
printing of titles ahead of Christmas to manage supply
challenges hitting many industries.
"Supply chain issues saw retailer purchases materially ahead
of normal," analysts at Peel Hunt said in a note. "Clearly,
Christmas sell-through has been good."
Current market expectations call for revenue of 197.1
million pounds ($266 million) and profit before tax and other
items of 20.1 million pounds, Bloomsbury said.
"Revenue is expected to be comfortably ahead and profit
materially ahead of market expectations for the year ending 28
February 2022," it said in a statement.
Shares in Bloomsbury jumped more than 11% to 367 pence on
the London Stock Exchange by 0830 GMT. The stock gained about
25% in 2021 and has more than doubled since its 2020 lows during
the start of the pandemic.
The company also highlighted momentum at its digital
resources business that offers online research tools and
learning for students, teachers and librarians.
The unit, which has benefited from online learning during
the pandemic, should make an annual profit of 5 million pounds,
in line with the targets set out in 2016, Bloomsbury said.
Aside from the ever popular Harry Potter series of books
Bloomsbury's titles include 'Paradise' by the 2021 Nobel
literature prize winner Tanzanian novelist Abdulrazak Gurnah.
($1 = 0.7406 pounds)
(Reporting by Sachin Ravikumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry
Jacob-Phillips, Elaine Hardcastle)