Bloomsbury e-book sales steal the show

Book publisher Bloomsbury said demand for electronic readers outpaced progress among traditional books.Sales of e-books increased to £1.5m in 2010 from £0.08m in 2009 in what chief executive Nigel Newton hailed as the 'changing the face of the publishing industry.' E-sales in January to March 2011 were £1.1m."The publishing world is handling its own revolution," Newton said.The group, which achieved phenomenal success with the Harry Potter book series, said pre-tax profit for the 14 months ended 28 February 2011 slumped to £4.2m compared to £7.1m in the 12 months to 31 December 2009. Bloomsbury, which changed its year-end to 28 February said revenue rose to £103.4m from £87.2m during 2009. Newton said, "This is an exciting time for Bloomsbury: demand for digital delivery, including e-books, is increasing significantly; it will change the publishing business model creating one worldwide market.""The recent organisation change is already bringing benefits, enabling us to better exploit that worldwide market as a global publisher in print and digital. We have a strong balance sheet and an excellent management team, so are well placed to exploit future opportunities."The publisher also said it had launched Bloomsbury Australia in January, which has been immediately earnings enhancing.A final dividend of 0.28p has been recommended for the two month period 1 January to 28 February, subject to shareholder approval at the AGM.CJ