Bloomsbury Regulatory News (BMY)

14 Jan 2010 07:00



Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

("Bloomsbury" or "the Group")

Trading Statement

Bloomsbury Publishing today announces its trading update for the year ending 31 December 2009 and reports that 2009 trading was in line with management's expectations. 

2009 sales were excellent driven by a strong publishing programme. This included River Cottage Everyday by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall which was a tie-in to a TV series on Channel Four in the lead up to Christmas; The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows; The Suspicions of Mr Whicher by Kate Summerscale which was one of the Top paperbacks of 2009; The Fat Duck Cookbook by Heston Blumenthal; The Last Fighting Tommy by Harry Patch and Richard Van Emden; Ordinary Thunderstorms by William Boyd; Storms of my Grandchildren by James Hansen; Methland by Nick Reding. Sales of the box set of the seven Harry Potter books were particularly strong.

Tottel Publishing which was acquired in July 2009 and renamed Bloomsbury Professional performed well and in line with expectations.

During the past three years, Bloomsbury has concluded a number of long-term database and management  contracts increasing the visibility of cash flow and profit for the Group. In December Bloomsbury concluded a major deal with Qatar Foundation and Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF), to establish a new scientific journal publishing house to be based in Doha, Qatar. This initiative will extend the unique relationship between Qatar Foundation and Bloomsbury. Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation Journals (BQFJ), will publish scientific research developed to the highest international peer review standards in order to connect the international research community to one of the fastest growing research and development centres in the world. The venture will cover all research subjects, including medical, physical, engineering, Islamic and social sciences and the arts. The scientific journal publishing deal with Qatar Foundation and QNRF is an important strategic step forward for the Group. 

Period-end cash for the Group is likely to be in the region of £35m.

The preliminary results for the year ended 31st December 2009 will be announced on 30th March 2009.

-ends-

Enquiries: 

Bell Pottinger - Dan de Belder / Rosanne Perry 020 7861 3232