Bloomsbury Publishing Share Discussion Threads

[essentialinvestor] 16/6/2022 11:38

Dave, would guess the margin on the children's division is significantly boosted by HP titles.

If you are looking for a lower entry level, it may well be available if recent
wider equity market declines gather momentum.

[disc0dave45] 15/6/2022 22:03

Ps for those interested you can sign up at the investormeetcompany website (it's free) and register your interest to attend the online meeting. A copy of the meeting will also be available on their website (they did one for the last interims).

[disc0dave45] 15/6/2022 22:01

Question hopefully at Investor Meet Company on 22nd June.Having looked at interims presentation it could be a reduced gross margin and higher admin expenses (at CER) for some reason that is the cause of reduced profit margin for the Adult trading - not too certain but for 24% of their revenue to have such a disparaging margin seems very odd to me.BLOOMSBURY PUBLISHING PLC will be holding a Preliminary Results for the financial year ending 28 February 2022 meeting on 22nd Jun 2022 at 12:00pm BST.

[kennewil] 15/6/2022 19:57

Maybe a question at the agm?

[disc0dave45] 15/6/2022 17:36

“The Adult division achieved a 26% increase in revenue to GBP55.2 million (2020/21: GBP43.7 million) and profit before taxation and highlighted items of GBP2.0 million (2020/21: GBP3.9 million). Profit before taxation was GBP1.7 million (2020/21: GBP3.8 million)”

So highlighted items £300k (amortisation of intangible assets, acquisition and restructuring costs). Only 3% pbt margin on Adult trade and despite 26% increase in revenue the pbt more than halved. Childrens trade pbt margin is 17% and with a 25% increase in revenue the pbt increased 52%. Why such poor returns on their Adult trade?

[babbler] 15/6/2022 16:29

WH smiths had update that's why it's rising.

[netcurtains] 15/6/2022 16:09

Pearson and WH Smiths appear to be going up on back of good results from Bloomsbury

[essentialinvestor] 15/6/2022 15:01

Mentioned a couple of years back the growing number of Sarah J Mass books may play be a significant part in future profitability, that now looks to be happening.


Digital resources is a great result and should be a strong longer term profit generator.

[kennewil] 15/6/2022 14:36

Not seen that but note in accounts mentions aquisitions and associated legal cost so should be ok going forwards.Been gradually increasing my exposure here on good news. So added a little more today.I estimated 20mill profit at last trading update but they came in at 26mill. Seemed rude not so add.

[disc0dave45] 15/6/2022 14:15

Agree.The only slight negative for me is adult trade - Rev increased 26% but pbt more than halved, why?.For the record not holding yet.

[kennewil] 15/6/2022 08:42

One of the best TU I have seen in a long time, they do keep them coming.

[18bt] 15/6/2022 07:31

I will simply say that the group has beaten consensus forecasts of every measure despite them being lifted 3 times last year. Market forecasts for growth this year look way too low.

[cwa1] 15/6/2022 07:26

Results out:-



Commenting on the results, Nigel Newton, Chief Executive, said :



"Bloomsbury achieved its highest ever results with sales up 24% to £230.1 million and profits up 40% to £26.7 million. Sales were up 41% and profits up 70% from two years ago. Both the Consumer and Non-Consumer divisions gave outstanding and resilient performances, highlighting Bloomsbury's unique strength in combining general and academic publishing.



The question on all of our minds was: would the pandemic surge in reading continue? We now know the answer: reading has become a reacquired habit and continues to thrive. The pandemic made us all re-evaluate how we spend our time and this has resulted in an increase in sales of books that enable us to explore our hobbies and personal interests such as cooking, fitness, history and reading novels for enlightenment and escape. Our Academic sales have benefitted from the structural shift to online learning. Our success continues to this date with good sales for Bloomsbury's first quarter. The surge in reading, which seemed to be one of the only rays of light in the darkest days of the pandemic is perhaps now being revealed as permanent, with the simple act of reading shedding light and giving joy to millions of people.



The Consumer division revenue grew by 25%, continuing the momentum of last year, and achieved a 25% increase in profit before tax and highlighted items1 to £17.8 million. The Non-Consumer division saw 23% revenue growth and a 68% increase in profit before tax and highlighted items1 to £9.1 million. Consumer revenue was 53% higher and Non-Consumer revenue 24% higher than two years ago. Bloomsbury Digital Resources ("BDR") outperformed the target set six years ago of £15 million of sales and £5 million of profit, with sales of £18.6 million, up 50% on last year, and profit of £6.8 million, up £3.9 million on last year. Following this success, we have set ambitious new growth targets for BDR.



Supporting our strong organic growth, we made three acquisitions during the year of ABC-CLIO LLC, the Red Globe Press list and Head of Zeus Limited.



In recognition of our strong performance and in line with our progressive dividend policy, the Board proposes a 24% increase in our final dividend to 9.40 pence per share.



Trading for 2022/23 has started in line with the Board's expectations. Bloomsbury plans to invest robustly in continued organic growth and further acquisitions based on our strong financial position and proven strategy."

[netcurtains] 06/4/2022 12:47

Publishers including BMY PSON and RELX all appear to have had a good quarter.

[gswredland] 01/4/2022 12:20

Long term it looks good.
Bound to be some profit taking though

[primarch1] 01/4/2022 12:15

Was hoping this would push on after breaking the 400 resistance.great results and a nice cash pile for more acquisitions.

[tole] 31/3/2022 20:02

https://citywire.com/funds-insider/news/expert-view-hargreaves-lansdown-polymetal-bloomsbury-team17-and-strix/Peel Hunt nominates Bloomsbury as a core holdingBook publisher Bloomsbury (BMY) has delivered a very positive trading update and continues to go from strength to strength, says broker Peel Hunt.Analyst Malcolm Morgan has maintained a 'buy' recommendation, increasing the target price from 400p to 425p and reiterating that it should be a core holding in portfolios.Strong recent trading has been powered by a best-selling novel from American author Sarah J. Maas released in mid-February that has also pushed consumers towards her back catalogue.'Bloomsbury goes from strength to strength. It is a first-rate publisher, evidenced by the commercial and critical success it generates,' said Morgan.'It is well financed – with significant cash assets on the balance sheet and investment in working capital, with the value of the library of publishing rights unrecognised on the balance sheet.'The shares shot up 9.6% to close at 400p on Wednesday.

[dr biotech] 31/3/2022 10:09

Simon Thomson in the IC likes these, rates it as a buy.

Link is below. There’s an easy (for most) to jump the paywall. Just pm me.




//www.investorschronicle.co.uk/ideas/2022/03/30/delivering-profitable-growth/

[netcurtains] 30/3/2022 10:20

As well as being a growth stock with a low PE it also gives a dividend:

div yield: 2.29%

[kennewil] 30/3/2022 09:43

For growth stock, pe should really be in 20's so share price could easily go over 5 , though so far even with good trading updates it has been weighed down by something.The new digital venture looks promising for growth as well so i am staying long.

[netcurtains] 30/3/2022 08:49

OK looks a great trading update.
For a super growth stock the PE ratio actually is pretty low.
Its not at its year highs.

PE 15.96 (via google)

At this price, after such an update, I would say this was a buy.

[dr biotech] 30/3/2022 08:06

Think there is always going to be a lag as (I believe) books are sold to the retailers then unsold books returned. Hence sold 100 last week, but won’t know until the end of the month how many returns. Still decent statement.

[18bt] 30/3/2022 07:45

It's amazing, but it has taken them 4 weeks to realise that sales of some books were better in February. Whilst they are riding the wave, that's good - but beware their lack of visibility in a downturn. Paradoxically, this makes me question their forecasts further out.

[cwa1] 30/3/2022 07:29

Magnificent:-



Revenue is expected to be comfortably ahead and profit materially ahead of upgraded market expectations for the year ended 28 February 2022, surpassing the guidance provided in our statement on 26 January 2022*.

Nigel Newton, Chief Executive, said:

"Bloomsbury's excellent performance demonstrates the strength and resilience of our business and the successful execution of our digital and acquisition strategy. In February, the final month of our financial year, Bloomsbury delivered exceptional sales, in part driven by Sarah J. Maas' new title, Crescent City: House of Sky and Breath, which was a global number one bestseller.

Alongside this strong performance, we successfully mitigated ongoing print supply chain challenges, including printing titles earlier than usual and being flexible about where we print. We remain confident in the strength and resilience of our business and our long-term strategy."