Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Audited Preliminary Results

RNS Number : 5499P

Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

23 May 2024

 

BLOOMSBURY PUBLISHING PLC  

("Bloomsbury" or "the Company")

 

Audited Preliminary Results for the year ended 29 February 2024

 

Success of portfolio of portfolios strategy leads to exceptional sales up 30% and profits up 57% with full year dividend up 25%

Revenue and profit for 2024/25 upgraded

 

Bloomsbury Publishing Plc (LSE: BMY), the leading independent publisher, today announces audited results for the year ended 29 February 2024.

 

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

 

"We had an outstanding year at Bloomsbury with exceptional trading leading to the highest revenue and profit in Bloomsbury's 37 year history. Our sales are up £79m, an increase of 30% from £264m to £343m. Profit is up £18m, an increase of 57% from £31m to £49m. This dramatic increase arises from our entrepreneurial diversification strategy which has forged a portfolio of portfolios combining consumer and academic publishing across formats, territories and subject areas, a resilient model delivering long-term success.

Consumer revenue growth was 49%.  Recent success has been principally driven by the increasing demand for fantasy fiction. Sarah J. Maas is a publishing phenomenon and we are very fortunate to have signed her up with her first book 14 years ago.  Her books have captivated a huge audience, supported by major Bloomsbury promotional campaigns, driving strong word of mouth recommendation, particularly through social media channels.

Bloomsbury Digital Resources increased sales to £27m and remains on course to achieve its target of c.£37m turnover in 2027/28 though Non-Consumer sales were slightly down by 4% to £93.4 million. Bloomsbury is well placed, despite the end of US government COVID relief funding, to capitalise on the continued structural shift to digital learning and is confident in the long-term growth opportunities of the Non-Consumer division given the significant growth projections for higher education. The World Bank estimates that globally there will be 380 million higher education students by 2030, up from 220 million students in 2021, which itself more than doubled the enrolment figures from 2000.

In recognition of this performance and in accordance with our progressive dividend policy, the Board recommends a final dividend of 10.99 pence per share, taking our full year dividend to 14.69 pence per share, an increase of 25% year on year.

Trading for 2024/25 is expected to be slightly ahead of current consensus expectation¹. Expectations for 2024/25 reflect the exceptional performance in 2023/24, and that we are not expecting to publish a new Sarah J. Maas title in the year ending 28 February 2025. Last week, we won five awards at the British Book Awards including Children's Publisher of the Year. Today we launch Bloomsbury 2030, setting out our vision for the Company over the next six years.

Bloomsbury has a clear strategy. Our strong cash generation and balance sheet enables us to continue investing in innovative content and authors, as well as capitalising on emerging opportunities. As a result of these strengths, the genius of our authors and the skill of our people worldwide at our unique combination of literary and scholarly publishing, we remain confident in Bloomsbury's ability to deliver continued success."

Note

1.     The Board considers consensus market expectation (before this publication) for the year ending 28 February 2025 to be revenue of £283.6m and profit before taxation and highlighted items of £35.4m.

For further information, please contact:

 

Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Tamsin Garrity, Head of Investor Relations	[e-mail]
Hudson Sandler	[phone]
Dan de Belder / Hattie Dreyfus / Emily Brooker	[e-mail]

 

Financial Highlights

	2023/24	2022/23	2021/22	'24 vs '23	'24 vs '22
Revenue	£342.7m	£264.1m	£230.1m	30%	49%
Profit before taxation and highlighted items1	£48.7m	£31.1m	£26.7m	57%	82%
Profit before taxation	£41.5m	£25.4m	£22.2m	63%	87%
Adjusted diluted earnings per share	46.62p	30.56p	25.94p	53%	80%
Diluted earnings per share	39.11p	24.54p	20.33p	59%	92%
Net cash	£65.8m	£51.5m	£41.2m	28%	59%
Final dividend per share	10.99p	10.34p	9.40p	6%	17%
Total dividend per share	14.69p	11.75p	10.74p	25%	37%

 

Operational Highlights

 

Consumer Division

●	Consumer revenue growth of 49% to £249.2m (2022/23: £166.7m)
●	Consumer profit before taxation and highlighted items1 up 108% to £37.8m (2022/23: £18.1m)
●	Commercial and literary success across the portfolio with exceptional performance from sales of Sarah J. Maas' titles, up 161%, Katherine Rundell, Samantha Shannon and continued strong sales of Harry Potter, 26 years since first publication

 

Non-Consumer Division

●	Non-Consumer revenue was £93.4m (2022/23: £97.4m)
●	Non-Consumer profit before taxation and highlighted items1 was £9.9m (2022/23: £13.1m)
●	Academic & Professional revenue was £70.5m (2022/23: £75.7m) and profit before taxation and highlighted items1 was £9.3m (2022/23: £12.4m)
●	Bloomsbury Digital Resources ("BDR") revenue growth of 2% to £26.6m (2022/23: £26.2m)
●	Reiterate BDR target to achieve c.£37m of turnover with 40% organic revenue growth over five years to 2027/28.

 

Note

¹ Highlighted items comprise amortisation of acquired intangible assets and legal and other professional costs relating to ongoing and completed acquisitions and restructuring costs.

 

Disclaimer

Certain statements, statistics and projections in this announcement are or may be forward looking. By their nature, forward‑looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties or assumptions that may or may not occur and actual results or events may differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Accordingly, no assurance can be given that any particular expectation will be met and reliance should not be placed on any forward-looking statement. Accordingly, forward-looking statements contained in this announcement regarding past trends or activities should not be taken as representation that such trends or activities will continue in the future. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which are based on the knowledge and information available only at the date of this announcement's preparation. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update or keep current the information contained in this announcement, including any forward‑looking statements, or to correct any inaccuracies which may become apparent and any opinions expressed in it are subject to change without notice. References in this announcement to other reports or materials, such as a website address, have been provided to direct the reader to other sources of information on Bloomsbury Publishing Plc which may be of interest. Neither the content of Bloomsbury's website nor any website accessible by hyperlinks from Bloomsbury's website nor any additional materials contained or accessible thereon, are incorporated in, or form part of, this announcement.

 

Chief Executive's statement

 

Overview

 

Bloomsbury, the literary and scholarly publisher, achieved the highest revenue and profit in its 37 year history in the year ended 29 February 2024. Bloomsbury delivered revenue growth of 30% to £342.7m (2022/23: £264.1m).

Group profit before taxation and highlighted items increased 57% to £48.7m (2022/23: £31.1m). Profit before taxation increased by 63% to £41.5m (2022/23: £25.4m). The highlighted items of £7.3m (2022/23: £5.7m) consist of the amortisation of acquired intangible assets of £4.9m (2022/23: £5.2m), one-off legal and other professional fees relating to acquisitions and restructuring costs of £2.3m (2022/23: £0.5m). The effective rate of tax for the year was 22.2% (2022/23: 20.3%). The adjusted effective rate of tax, excluding highlighted items, was 21.0% (2022/23: 18.9%).

Diluted earnings per share, excluding highlighted items, grew 53% to 46.62p (2022/23: 30.56p).  Including highlighted items, profit before tax increased to £41.5m (2022/23: £25.4m) and diluted earnings per share grew 59% to 39.11p (2022/23: 24.54p). The Board recommends a 6% increase in our final dividend to 10.99p per share, taking our full year dividend to 14.69p per share, an increase of 25% year on year.

We have once again demonstrated the extraordinary upside potential of consumer publishing with Sarah J. Maas. Consumer revenue growth was 49%, outperforming the UK trade market which was up 4% and the US trade market which was down 0.3% in 2023 (UK Publishers Association and Association of American Publishers respectively, figures by value).

In Non-Consumer, Bloomsbury Digital Resources ("BDR") increased its sales by 2% to £26.6m against a backdrop of more normalised post COVID higher education market. Our academic customer renewal rate remained at industry leading levels of 90%. Critically, notwithstanding this market normalisation, we remain confident in the long-term trends. BDR remains on course to achieve its target of 40% organic revenue growth in the five years to 2027/28 to deliver c.£37m turnover.

We have purposefully pursued a strategy of diversification across consumer and academic publishing and within those have diversified across formats and territories. This strategy has created a portfolio of portfolios - a model that provides resilient growth and cash generation. We continue to focus on capital allocation to accelerate the flywheel of Bloomsbury:

(1)  Fortifying our existing business by investing in our Company, authors and employees;

(2) Enhancing the diversification of our business to drive future profitability, organically and through acquisitions; and,

(3)  Retaining a strong balance sheet while rewarding shareholders through our dividend.

Our diversification across formats has ensured expanding publishing through digital channels, and we continue to expand our academic as well as consumer markets. Our international revenues are 77% of total revenue. In Academic subject areas, we provide resources across the Humanities, Social Sciences, Visual Arts, and Performing Arts. Our Consumer lists are increasingly diverse, with a sizeable presence in specific areas of non-fiction as well as bestselling award-winning fiction lists for adults and children.

Bloomsbury is proud to have been recognised for our work on diversity by the Small Cap Network by winning the Diversity, Inclusivity and Engagement Award. In recognition of our progress on sustainability, Bloomsbury received the IPG Sustainability Award and the LBF's inaugural Sustainability Initiative Award.

Consumer Division

The Consumer division consists of Adult publishing (fiction, non-fiction and lifestyle) and Children's publishing (picture books, young fiction and non-fiction, pre-school and illustrated non-fiction titles). The Consumer division generated revenue growth of 49% to £249.2m (2022/23: £166.7m). Profit before taxation and highlighted items increased by 108% to £37.8m (2022/23: £18.1m). Profit before taxation increased by 110% to £37.4m (2022/23: £17.8m).

 

Bloomsbury has again demonstrated the success and huge upside of consumer publishing. The success of Sarah J. Maas continues with her 16^th book with Bloomsbury, Crescent City: House of Flame and Shadow, which became a global No.1 bestseller on publication on 30 January 2024 and drove sales in her backlist titles. Sarah J. Maas' sales grew by 161% year on year, cementing her position as a publishing phenomenon. Desire by readers to immerse themselves in the interwoven worlds Sarah J. Maas has created, has driven sales across the Throne of Glass and A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR) series as well as the most recent Crescent City series.  This, alongside Bloomsbury's innovative marketing, has enabled Sarah J. Maas' work to reach a wider audience.

 

Harry Potter title sales remain strong, 26 years after first publication, showing the enduring appeal of this classic series. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was the No.1 bestselling Children's book of the year for the first time since 2002 (UK Nielsen Bookscan). The Bloomsbury curated The Harry Potter Wizarding Almanac was a No.1 Sunday Times Bestseller, a No.1 New York Times Bestseller and was published in 37 languages with international publishers.

 

Commercial and literary recognition for our authors continued, notably with:

 

●	Katherine Rundell's Impossible Creatures being crowned Waterstones Book of the Year 2023 and was a Sunday Times Bestseller.
●	Louise Kennedy's Trespasses won the McKitterick Prize, the British Book Awards Book of the Year - Debut Fiction and was a Times Bestseller.
●	Ann Patchett's Tom Lake was a Sunday Times Bestseller.
●	International No.1 bestseller Samantha Shannon's success with the 10th anniversary reissue of The Bone Season, alongside continued success of The Priory of the Orange Tree and A Day of Fallen Night.
●	Poppy Cooks' The Actually Delicious Air Fryer Cookbook was a Sunday Times Bestseller.
●	Tom Kerridge's Pub Kitchen was a Sunday Times Bestseller.
●	Isabella Tree's The Book of Wilding was a Sunday Times Bestseller.
●	Peter Frankopan's The Earth Transformed was a No.2 Sunday Times Bestseller and The Times Best History Book of 2023.
●	Tan Twan Eng's The House of Doors was chosen as Book of the Year 2023 by the Financial Times, New Statesman, New Yorker and Washington Post and was a Sunday Times Bestseller.
●	Ghosts: The Button House Archives companion book to the BBC TV series was an instant Sunday Times Bestseller.
●	Kidada E. Williams' I Saw Death Coming was longlisted for the US National Book Award in Non-fiction and shortlisted for the Museum of African American History's Stone Book Award.
●	Johann Hari's Stolen Focus was the winner of the Porchlight Business Book Award, chosen as one of the best books of the year by the Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, New York Post and was a New York Times Bestseller.
●	Trang Thanh Tran's She is a Haunting was a New York Times Bestseller.
●	Martha Mumford and Cherie Zamazing's bestselling Bunny Adventures series in which we published We're Going on a Ghost Hunt and We're Going to a Birthday Party in 2023.

  

Non-Consumer Division

 

The Non-Consumer division consists of Academic & Professional, including BDR, and Special Interest. Revenues in the division were £93.4m (2022/23: £97.4m). Profit before taxation and highlighted items for the Non-Consumer division was £9.9m (2022/23: £13.1m). Profit before taxation was £5.3m (2022/23: £8.2m).

 

Non-Consumer Division: Academic & Professional

 

Academic & Professional revenues were £70.5m (2022/23: £75.7m) and profit before taxation and highlighted items was £9.3m (2022/23: £12.4m). Profit before taxation was £4.9m (2022/23: £7.8m).

Bloomsbury Academic focuses on Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS), including Drama and Visual Arts with a strong digital offering. Our strategy means that we have been well placed to capitalise on the market growth, which was particularly strong through the pandemic, as Academic Institutions pivoted at pace to digital learning. As we communicated in the 2023/24 interim results, US Academic Institutions had received one-off benefits of additional government funding during the pandemic, a funding environment that has since normalised. BDR revenue has grown from £6.3m in 2018/19 to £26.6m in 2023/24. While the funding environment for Academic Institutions has evolved, we remain confident in the structural shift to digital learning.

BDR revenues were £26.6m with growth of 2% (2022/23: 41%). Our BDR growth strategy continues to build high margin, high quality, repeatable digital revenue from our market leading Academic & Professional IP. We reiterate our BDR target to reach c.£37m of sales with 40% organic revenue growth over the five years to 2027/28.

Bloomsbury author Jon Fosse won The Nobel Prize in Literature in 2023. We are proud to publish six collections of his plays in the UK and US, making him the eighth Nobel Prize winner on Bloomsbury's Methuen Drama list, joining Peter Handke, Dario Fo, Toni Morrison, Wole Soyinka, Luigi Pirandello, John Galsworthy and George Bernard Shaw.

Non-Consumer Division: Special Interest

 

Special Interest revenue increased by 6% to £22.9m (2022/23: £21.7m) and profit before taxation and highlighted items was £0.6m (2022/23: £0.6m). Regular publications such as Wisden Cricketers' Almanack and Reeds Nautical Almanac remain loved by enthusiasts.  

Prizes include:

·    The 2023 Wainwright Prize for Nature Writing, awarded to The Flow: Rivers, Water and Wildness by Amy-Jane Beer.

·    Waterstones Best Books of 2023 in European Politics, awarded to The War Came To Us: Life and Death in Ukraine by Christopher Miller.

·    Waterstones Best Book of 2023 in Sport, awarded to 1923: The Mystery of Lot 212 and a Tour de France Obsession by Ned Boulting.

Cash and Financing

 

Bloomsbury's cash generation was strong with cash at the year-end of £65.8m (2023: £51.5m) and cash conversion increased to 110% (2022/23: 107%).

 

The Group has an unsecured revolving credit facility with Lloyds Bank Plc. The facility comprises a committed revolving credit facility of £20 million, and an uncommitted incremental term loan facility of up to £20 million. At 29 February 2024, the Group had no draw down (2023: £nil) of this facility.

 

Acquisitions

 

Bloomsbury has a successful track record in strategic acquisitions, with 33 completed since inception. We are actively targeting and assessing further acquisition opportunities in line with our long-term growth strategy, particularly in Academic.

 

Dividend

 

Bloomsbury has a progressive dividend policy aiming to keep dividend earnings cover in excess of two times, supported by strong cash cover. The Board is recommending a final dividend of 10.99 pence per share, totalling £9.0m. Together with the interim dividend, this makes a total dividend for 2023/24 of 14.69 pence per share, a 25.0% increase on the 11.75 pence value of the dividend for 2022/23 and a 36.8% increase versus 2021/22.

 

Subject to Shareholder approval at our AGM on 16 July 2024, the final dividend will be paid on 23 August 2024 to Shareholders on the register on the record date of 26 July 2024.

 

Including the proposed 2023/24 final dividend, over the past ten years, the dividend per share has increased at a compound annual growth rate of 9.7%.

 

Future Publishing

 

Our publishing list for 2024/25 is strong and includes:

 

·    Stuart Turton's The Last Murder at the End of the World, published on 28 March 2024.

·    Johann Hari's new title Magic Pill: The Extraordinary Benefits and Disturbing Risks of the New Weight Loss Drugs, published on 2 May 2024.

·    Samantha Shannon's new title The Mask Falling, the latest in the Bone Season series, published on 9 May 2024.

·    Gillian Anderson's new title Want to be published on 5 September 2024.

·   The Golden Road: How Ancient India Transformed the World by William Dalrymple, the co-host of the chart topping Empire podcast, will be published on 12 September 2024.

·    Harry Potter: A new illustrated gift book Christmas at Hogwarts will be published on 15 October 2024, with text drawn directly from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.

·    Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's How to Eat 30 Plants A Week, published on 9 May 2024.

·    Tom Kerridge Cooks Britain, accompanying the TV series, will be published on 6 June 2024.

·    The new Bunny Adventures book by Martha Mumford and Cherie Zamazing Hooray! It's our First Day will be published on 4 July 2024.

Bloomsbury 2030

 

Bloomsbury 2030 is the next stage of our ambitious growth strategy. To achieve further success, we will focus on our growth, our portfolio and our people. To drive our growth, we will use our strong financial position to fund further acquisitions focused on Academic and US opportunities with digital potential. Within our portfolio, we aim to become the most successful independent Academic publisher in Humanities and Social Sciences, focusing on digital publishing and resources, as well as building more brand authors and continuing to discover, nurture, champion and retain high-quality authors and illustrators. Our people goal is to be the best place to work in publishing through an industry-leading focus on professional development programs, training, systems and work practices.

 

Our strategy remains to invest in high value intellectual property and digital channels, publish works of excellence and originality, and grow our diversified portfolio of content and services across our Consumer and Academic Divisions alongside international market expansion to build quality revenues and increase earnings. 

 

Board Changes and Evaluation

 

As announced today, Sir Richard Lambert has given notice of his intention to retire as Chairman and step down as Director of the Company with effect from the conclusion of the Annual General Meeting on 16 July 2024.  John Bason, current Independent Non-Executive Director, will succeed Richard as Chairman, subject to re-election as director. Nigel Newton commented, "Sir Richard Lambert has been an exceptional Chairman over the last seven years. We are immensely grateful for his insight, sage and generous counsel and support, which have helped Bloomsbury achieve so much during his tenure. Richard will be succeeded by John Bason, subject to shareholder approval. John joined the Board two years ago and brings a depth of financial and business knowledge to help Bloomsbury reach its ambitious goals."

 

The Board conducts an annual formal evaluation of its performance. For 2023/24, this was an externally-facilitated evaluation, conducted by Value Alpha Ltd, an independent advisory firm. The review's key findings were that 'Board and committee performance are strong; boardroom behaviours are exemplary; the Board's governance approach successfully delivers effective oversight; and, in overall terms, the Board's performance and effectiveness is high.'

 

Current trading & Outlook

 

Trading for 2024/25 is expected to be slightly ahead of the current consensus expectation¹.

 

Bloomsbury has six new books contracted with Sarah J. Maas, as announced in March 2023. We are not expecting to publish a new title in the year ending 28 February 2025. Announcements regarding any new publication date will be made by Bloomsbury in tandem with Sarah J. Maas announcing the date to her readers.

 

The Board is confident in the medium and long-term strategy for Consumer and investing in Academic & Professional Publishing, with the benefits of digital content. We continue to execute our strategy of diversification across formats, territories and markets and our portfolio of portfolios strategy. Our authors, customers, consistent performance, and the scale and resilience of our business continue to underpin the confidence we have in the future.

 

Note

1.     The Board considers consensus market expectation (before this publication) for the year ending 28 February 2025 to be revenue of £283.6m and profit before taxation and highlighted items of £35.4m.

Strategy Targets and Performance in 2023/24

 

Bloomsbury's long-term growth strategy remains to invest in high value intellectual property and digital channels, publish works of excellence and originality, and grow our diversified portfolio of content and services across our Consumer and Non-Consumer Divisions to build quality revenues and increase earnings. Bloomsbury is committed to playing its part in shaping a more sustainable, equitable and inclusive world, and this commitment informs our strategic priorities. We are focused the following long-term strategic objectives to deliver against our strategy:

 

·    Non-Consumer

 

o  Goal: Grow Bloomsbury's portfolio in Non-Consumer publishing.  Non-Consumer publishing is characterised by higher, more predictable margins, is less reliant on retailers and presents greater digital and global opportunities. 

Achieved 2023/24: Delivered £93.4m in Non-Consumer revenue.

 

o  Goal: BDR target to achieve 40% organic revenue growth over the five years from 2022/23 to 2027/28, to reach c. £37m turnover.

 

Achieved 2023/24: Delivered £26.6m revenue and 322% growth over five years.

 

·    Consumer

 

o  Goal: Discover, nurture, champion and retain high-quality authors and illustrators, while championing new ways to leverage existing title rights.

 

Achieved 2023/24: Delivered 49% growth in Consumer Division revenue. Bestsellers included Katherine Rundell's Impossible Creatures, Louise Kennedy's Trespasses, Ann Patchett's Tom Lake, Samantha Shannon's 10^th anniversary reissue of The Bone Season, The Priory of the Orange Tree and A Day of Fallen Night and Martha Mumford and Cherie Zamazing's Bunny Adventures series.

 

o  Goal: Grow our key authors through effective publishing across all formats alongside strategic sales and marketing.

 

Achieved 2023/24: 161% growth in revenue from sales of Sarah J. Maas titles. Sarah J. Maas' new title Crescent City: House of Flame and Shadow became a global No.1 bestseller on publication on 30 January 2024 and drove sales in her backlist titles. Bloomsbury has six new titles contracted.

 

o  Goal: As the originating publisher of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series, ensure that new children discover and read it for pleasure every year.

 

Achieved 2023/24: Harry Potter title sales remain strong, 26 years after first publication. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was the UK's No.1 bestselling children's book of the year for the first time since 2002. The Bloomsbury conceived The Harry Potter Wizarding Almanac was a No.1 Sunday Times bestseller and a No.1 New York Times bestseller.

 

·    International Expansion

 

o  Goal: Expand international revenues. Continue our international growth and take advantage of the biggest academic market in the US.

Achieved 2023/24: International revenues increased to 77% of Group revenue (2022/23: 73%). US revenues increased to 56% of Group revenue (2022/23: 48%).

 

·    Employee Experience and Engagement; Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

 

Our success is driven by the expertise, passion and commitment of our employees, highlighting the importance of attracting, supporting and engaging them. We value diversity of thought, perspectives and experience in shaping our culture and strategy, driving our long-term success and informing the ways in which we fulfil our social purpose.

 

o  Goal: Be an attractive employer for individuals seeking a career in publishing, regardless of background or identity, adding cultural value to our business operations and performance.

 

o  Goal: Focus on initiatives to create an environment that promotes diversity, nurtures talent, stimulates creativity and collaboration, supports well-being and is inclusive and respectful of difference.

 

o  Goal: Implement Bloomsbury's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Action Plan.

 

Achieved 2023/24: Won the Small Cap Network Diversity, Inclusivity and Engagement Award

 

Achieved 2023/24: Bloomsbury rolled out its Career Framework initiative to all employees in the US and UK, a transparent and fair pay and grading structure underpinning our reward scheme and career progression programme.

 

Achieved 2023/24: All employees received a one-off £1,250 payment to share in our exceptional performance, in addition to the groupwide bonus scheme.

 

Achieved 2023/24: Delivered a new comprehensive medical insurance plan for UK employees.

 

Achieved 2023/24: Launched the Bloomsbury Writer's Mentorship Programme, to support unpublished, underrepresented fiction writers. The programme is open to people of colour, those from lower socio-economic backgrounds, those living with a disability and those from the LGBTQ+ community. Proving the importance of integrating with this community, Bloomsbury received 800 entries in the first year and announced its first winner, Alice McCusker, in March 2024.

 

Achieved 2023/24: Launched the Bloomsbury Academic Writing Fellowship, open to UK-based authors and researchers with African or African Caribbean heritage, to uncover new authors and give new voices a platform. This was awarded to Fellow Tionne Alliyah Parris who will receive an editorial mentorship, £1,000 financial support, practical resources and event and networking opportunities.

 

Achieved 2023/24: Launched the Academic & Professional Widening Access Fund pilot, to provide financial support for authors who may not otherwise be able to publish with us.

 

Achieved 2023/24: Official partner of The Runnymede Trust's Lit in Colour initiative, supporting the increase in students' access to books by writers of colour and those from minority ethnic backgrounds, drawing on our world-leading drama list from Methuen Drama. As official partner of the Lit in Colour initiative, in November 2023 Bloomsbury launched 'The (Incomplete) Lit in Colour Play List' with 57 plays from an eventual 172. Lit in Colour won Outstanding Drama Initiative 2024 at the Music and Drama Education Awards.

 

·    Sustainability

 

o  Goal: Maximise our use of sustainable resources while seeking to reduce carbon emissions in line with our science-based targets. We recognise our responsibility to conserve the Earth's resources and we are committed to monitoring and improving the environmental impact of our operations.

 

Achieved 2023/24: Bloomsbury is delighted to have received the IPG Sustainability Award and the London Book Fair inaugural Sustainability Initiative Award.

 Achieved 2023/24: 77% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions in four years.

 

Achieved 2023/24: Completed the CDP Climate Change questionnaire, receiving the second highest score of B, demonstrating our coordinated response to climate change. 

Audited Consolidated Income Statement

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 29 FEBRUARY 2024

 

		Year ended	Year ended
		29 February	28 February
		2024	2023
	Notes	£'000	£'000
Revenue	2	342,651	264,102
Cost of sales		(148,062)	(119,191)
Gross profit		194,589	144,911
Marketing and distribution costs		(49,769)	(32,529)
Administrative expenses		(104,171)	(86,551)
Share of result of joint venture		(46)	(228)
Operating profit before highlighted items		47,856	31,286
Highlighted items	3	(7,253)	(5,683)
Operating profit		40,603	25,603
Finance income		1,300	270
Finance costs		(408)	(458)
Profit before taxation and highlighted items		48,748	31,098
Highlighted items	3	(7,253)	(5,683)
Profit before taxation		41,495	25,415
Taxation	4	(9,200)	(5,171)
Profit for the year attributable to owners of the Company		32,295	20,244
Earnings per share attributable to owners of the Company
Basic earnings per share	6	39.77p	24.94p
Diluted earnings per share	6	39.11p	24.54p

Audited Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 29 FEBRUARY 2024

 

 

	Year ended	Year ended
	29 February	28 February
	2024	2023
	£'000	£'000
Profit for the year	32,295	20,244
Other comprehensive income
Items that may be reclassified to the income statement:
Exchange differences on translating foreign operations	(4,677)	7,464
Items that may not be reclassified to the income statement:
Remeasurements on the defined benefit pension scheme	17	-
Other comprehensive income for the year net of tax	(4,660)	7,464
Total comprehensive income for the year attributable to the owners of the Company	27,635	27,708

 

 

Items in the statement above are disclosed net of tax. 

Audited Consolidated Statement of Financial Position

AS AT 29 FEBRUARY 2024                                                                                   

 

		29 February	28 February
		2024	2023
	Notes	£'000	£'000
Assets
Goodwill		48,309	48,656
Other intangible assets		31,966	38,243
Property, plant and equipment		2,203	2,503
Right-of-use assets		7,559	9,126
Deferred tax assets		13,692	7,928
Trade and other receivables	7	790	934
Total non-current assets		104,519	107,390
Inventories		36,678	43,364
Trade and other receivables	7	164,796	112,819
Cash and cash equivalents		65,750	51,540
Total current assets		267,224	207,723
Total assets		371,743	315,113
Liabilities
Deferred tax liabilities		2,693	3,115
Lease liabilities		6,516	8,570
Provisions		534	334
Total non-current liabilities		9,743	12,019
Trade and other liabilities		151,979	111,620
Lease liabilities		2,388	2,082
Current tax liabilities		4,025	790
Provisions		1,157	764
Total current liabilities		159,549	115,256
Total liabilities		169,292	127,275
Net assets		202,451	187,838
Equity
Share capital		1,020	1,020
Share premium		47,319	47,319
Translation reserve		10,914	15,591
Other reserves		12,801	10,870
Retained earnings		130,397	113,038
Total equity attributable to owners of the Company		202,451	187,838

 

 

Audited Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 29 FEBRUARY 2024

 

	Share capital £'000	Share premium £'000	Translation reserve  £'000	Merger reserve £'000	Capital redemption reserve £'000	Share-based payment reserve £'000	Own shares held by EBT £'000	Retained  earnings £'000	Total equity £'000
At 28 February 2022	1,020	47,319	8,127	1,803	22	9,492	(2,552)	103,738	168,969
Profit for the year	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	20,244	20,244
Other comprehensive income
Exchange differences on translating foreign operations	-	-	7,464	-	-	-	-	-	7,464
Total comprehensive income for the year	-	-	7,464	-	-	-	-	20,244	27,708
Transactions with owners
Dividends to equity holders of the Company Purchase of shares by the Employee Benefit Trust	-   -	-   -	-   -	-   -	-   -	-   -	-   (1,669)	(8,752)   -	(8,752)   (1,669)
Share options exercised	-	-	-	-	-	-	2,539	(2,273)	266
Deferred tax on share-based payment transactions	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	81	81
Share-based payment transactions	-	-	-	-	-	1,235	-	-	1,235
Total transactions with owners of the Company	-	-	-	-	-	1,235	870	(10,944)	(8,839)
At 28 February 2023	1,020	47,319	15,591	1,803	22	10,727	(1,682)	113,038	187,838
Profit for the year	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	32,295	32,295
Other comprehensive income
Exchange differences on translating foreign operations	-	-	(4,677)	-	-	-	-	-	(4,677)
Remeasurements on the defined benefit pension scheme	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	17	17
Total comprehensive income for the year	-	-	(4,677)	-	-	-	-	32,312	27,635
Transactions with owners
Dividends to equity holders of the Company	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	(11,348)	(11,348)
Purchase of shares by the Employee Benefit Trust	-	-	-	-	-	-	(2,814)	-	(2,814)
Share options exercised	-	-	-	-	-	-	3,732	(3,321)	411
Share options cancelled	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	(636)	(636)
Deferred tax on share-based payment transactions	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	(205)	(205)
Share-based payment transactions	-	-	-	-	-	1,013	-	557	1,570
Total transactions with owners of the Company	-	-	-	-	-	1,013	918	(14,953)	(13,022)
At 29 February 2024	1,020	47,319	10,914	1,803	22	11,740	(764)	130,397	202,451

 

Audited Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 29 FEBRUARY 2024

 

 

	Year ended 29 February  2024 £'000	Year ended 28 February  2023 £'000
Cash flows from operating activities
Profit for the year	32,295	20,244
Adjustments for:
Depreciation of property, plant and equipment	852	659
Depreciation of right-of-use assets	2,052	2,114
Amortisation of intangible assets	10,434	9,687
Loss on disposal of property, plant and equipment	157	13
Loss on disposal on intangible assets	169	107
Finance income	(1,300)	(270)
Finance costs	408	458
Share of loss of joint venture	46	228
Share-based payment charges	1,807	1,601
Tax expense	9,200	5,171
	56,120	40,012
Decrease/(increase) in inventories	4,927	(7,557)
(Increase) in trade and other receivables	(54,383)	(3,226)
Increase in trade and other liabilities	43,881	4,033
Cash generated from operating activities	50,545	33,262
Income taxes paid	(12,929)	(6,640)
Net cash generated from operating activities	37,616	26,622
Cash flows from investing activities
Purchase of property, plant and equipment	(737)	(818)
Purchase of intangible assets Purchase of business, net of cash acquired	(5,097) -	(5,165) (72)
Purchase of rights to assets	-	(633)
Purchase of share in a joint venture Interest received	(46)	(183)
	1,266	253
Net cash used in investing activities	(4,614)	(6,618)
Cash flows from financing activities
Equity dividends paid Purchase of shares by the Employee Benefit Trust Proceeds from exercise of share options	(11,348) (2,814) 411	(8,752) (1,669) 266
Cancellations of share options	(636)	-
Repayment of lease liabilities	(2,219)	(2,226)
Lease liabilities interest paid	(325)	(390)
Net cash used in financing activities	(16,931)	(12,771)
Net increase in cash and cash equivalents	16,071	7,233
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year	51,540	41,226
Exchange (loss)/gain on cash and cash equivalents	(1,861)	3,081
Cash and cash equivalents at end of year	65,750	51,540

 

 

 

NOTES

 

1.  Accounting policies

 

a)    Basis of Preparation

 

The financial information set out above does not constitute the Company's statutory accounts for the years ended 29 February 2024 or 28 February 2023 but is derived from those accounts. Statutory accounts for 2023 have been delivered to the registrar of companies, and those for 2024 will be delivered in due course. The auditor has reported on those accounts; their reports were (i) unqualified, (ii) did not include a reference to any matters to which the auditor drew attention by way of emphasis without qualifying their report and (iii) did not contain a statement under section 498 (2) or (3) of the Companies Act 2006.

 

The Group financial statements were prepared in accordance with UK-adopted international accounting standards and the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.  Except as described below, the accounting policies applied in the year ended 29 February 2024 are consistent with those applied in the financial statements for year ended 28 February 2023 with the exception of a number of new accounting standards and amendments which have not had a material impact on the Group's results.

 

 

b)  Going concern

 

The Directors have a reasonable expectation that the Group has adequate resources to continue in operational existence at least 12 months from the date of this preliminary announcement, being the period of the detailed going concern assessment reviewed by the Board, and therefore continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the condensed consolidated financial statements. 

 

The Board has modelled a severe but plausible downside scenario. This assumes:

·     Print revenues are reduced by 20% during 2024/2025, with recovery during 2025/2026;

·     Digital revenues are reduced by 20% during 2024/2025, with recovery during 2025/2026;

·     Print costs are increased by 2% from 2024/2025 and staff costs are increased by 2% from 2025/2026;

·     Downside assumptions about extended debtor days during 2024/2025, with recovery during 2025/2026;

·     Cash preservation measures implemented and variable costs reduced.

At 29 February 2024, the Group had available liquidity of £85.8 million, comprising central cash balances and its undrawn £20.0 million Revolving Credit Facility ("RCF"). The RCF agreement is to November 2026. Under the severe but plausible downside scenario, the Group would maintain sufficient liquidity headroom even before modelling the mitigating effect of actions that management would take in the event that these downside risks were to crystallise.

The Group has an unsecured revolving credit facility with Lloyds Bank Plc. At 29 February 2024, the Group had £nil draw down (2023: £nil) of this facility with £20.0 million of undrawn borrowing facilities (2023: £10.0 million) available.

The facility comprises a committed revolving credit facility of £20 million, and an uncommitted incremental term loan facility of up to £20 million. The facilities are subject to two covenants, being a maximum net debt to EBITDA ratio of 2.5x and a minimum interest cover covenant of 4x.

 

 

2.  Revenue and segmental analysis

The Group is comprised of two worldwide publishing divisions: Consumer and Non-Consumer, reflecting the core customers for our different operations. The Consumer division is split into two operating segments: Children's Trade and Adult Trade, and Non-Consumer is split into two operating segments: Academic & Professional and Special Interest.

 

Each reportable segment represents a cash-generating unit for the purpose of impairment testing. We have allocated goodwill between reportable segments.  These divisions are the basis on which the Group primarily reports its segment information. Segments derive their revenue from book publishing, sale of publishing and distribution rights, management and other publishing services.

 

The analysis by segment is shown below:

	Children's Trade	Adult Trade	Consumer	Academic & Professional	Special Interest	Non-Consumer	Unallocated	Total
Year ended 29 February 2024	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000
External revenue	191,329	57,874	249,203	70,501	22,947	93,448	-	342,651
Cost of sales	(83,154)	(32,194)	(115,348)	(21,991)	(10,723)	(32,714)	-	(148,062)
Gross profit	108,175	25,680	133,855	48,510	12,224	60,734	-	194,589
Marketing and distribution costs	(31,235)	(9,377)	(40,612)	(5,912)	(3,245)	(9,157)	-	(49,769)
Contribution before administrative expenses	76,940	16,303	93,243	42,598	8,979	51,577	-	144,820
Administrative expenses excluding highlighted items	(35,875)	(19,401)	(55,276)	(33,260)	(8,382)	(41,642)	-	(96,918)
Share of result of joint venture	-	-	-	-	-	-	(46)	(46)
Operating profit/(loss) before highlighted items/segment results	41,065	(3,098)	37,967	9,338	597	9,935	(46)	47,856
Amortisation of acquired intangible assets	-	(359)	(359)	(4,373)	(200)	(4,573)	-	(4,932)
Other highlighted items	-	-	-	-	-	-	(2,321)	(2,321)
Operating profit/(loss)	41,065	(3,457)	37,608	4,965	397	5,362	(2,367)	40,603
Finance income	-	-	-	41	-	41	1,259	1,300
Finance costs	(124)	(81)	(205)	(88)	(33)	(121)	(82)	(408)
Profit/(loss) before taxation and highlighted items	40,941	(3,179)	37,762	9,291	564	9,855	1,131	48,748
Amortisation of acquired intangible assets	-	(359)	(359)	(4,373)	(200)	(4,573)	-	(4,932)
Other highlighted items	-	-	-	-	-	-	(2,321)	(2,321)
Profit/(loss) before taxation	40,941	(3,538)	37,403	4,918	364	5,282	(1,190)	41,495
Taxation	-	-	-	-	-	-	(9,200)	(9,200)
Profit/(loss) for the year	40,941	(3,538)	37,403	4,918	364	5,282	(10,390)	32,295
Operating profit/(loss) before highlighted items/segment results	41,065	(3,098)	37,967	9,338	597	9,935	(46)	47,856
Depreciation	1,088	706	1,794	864	246	1,110	-	2,904
Amortisation of internally generated intangibles	533	750	1,283	3,225	337	3,562	-	4,845
EBITDA before highlighted items	42,686	(1,642)	41,044	13,427	1,180	14,607	(46)	55,605

 

	Children's Trade	Adult Trade	Consumer	Academic & Professional	Special Interest	Non-Consumer	Unallocated	Total
Year ended 28 February 2023	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000
External revenue	108,897	57,796	166,693	75,749	21,660	97,409	-	264,102
Cost of sales	(56,205)	(30,473)	(86,678)	(22,578)	(9,935)	(32,513)	-	(119,191)
Gross profit	52,692	27,323	80,015	53,171	11,725	64,896	-	144,911
Marketing and distribution costs	(14,882)	(9,455)	(24,337)	(5,364)	(2,828)	(8,192)	-	(32,529)
Contribution before administrative expenses	37,810	17,868	55,678	47,807	8,897	56,704	-	112,382
Administrative expenses excluding highlighted items	(20,497)	(16,835)	(37,332)	(35,296)	(8,240)	(43,536)	-	(80,868)
Share of result of joint venture	-	-	-	-	-	-	(228)	(228)
Operating profit/(loss) before highlighted items/segment results	17,313	1,033	18,346	12,511	657	13,168	(228)	31,286
Amortisation of acquired intangible assets	-	(352)	(352)	(4,660)	(214)	(4,874)	-	(5,226)
Other highlighted items	-	-	-	-	-	-	(457)	(457)
Operating profit/(loss)	17,313	681	17,994	7,851	443	8,294	(685)	25,603
Finance income	-	-	-	50	-	50	220	270
Finance costs	(144)	(81)	(225)	(125)	(40)	(165)	(68)	(458)
Profit/(loss) before taxation and highlighted items	17,169	952	18,121	12,436	617	13,053	(76)	31,098
Amortisation of acquired intangible assets	-	(352)	(352)	(4,660)	(214)	(4,874)	-	(5,226)
Other highlighted items	-	-	-	-	-	-	(457)	(457)
Profit/(loss) before taxation	17,169	600	17,769	7,776	403	8,179	(533)	25,415
Taxation	-	-	-	-	-	-	(5,171)	(5,171)
Profit/(loss) for the year	17,169	600	17,769	7,776	403	8,179	(5,704)	20,244
Operating profit/(loss) before highlighted items/segment results	17,313	1,033	18,346	12,511	657	13,168	(228)	31,286
Depreciation	930	659	1,589	950	234	1,184	-	2,773
Amortisation of internally generated intangibles	487	629	1,116	3,023	322	3,345	-	4,461
EBITDA before highlighted items	18,730	2,321	21,051	16,484	1,213	17,697	(228)	38,520

External revenue by source

	United Kingdom £'000	North America £'000	Australia £'000	India £'000	Total £'000
Year ended 29 February 2024	143,672	177,311	16,285	5,383	342,651
Year ended 28 February 2023	144,632	98,294	16,145	5,031	264,102

 

During the year sales to one customer exceeded 10% of Group revenue (2023: one customer). The value of these sales was £106,155,000 (2023: £68,856,000).

 

External revenue by product type

 

Year ended 29 February 2024	Children's Trade £'000	Adult Trade £'000	Consumer £'000	Academic & Professional £'000	Special Interest £'000	Non-Consumer £'000	Total £'000
Print	155,016	43,866	198,882	28,505	18,804	47,309	246,191
Digital	32,236	12,116	44,352	38,940	2,439	41,379	85,731
Rights and Services1	4,077	1,892	5,969	3,056	1,704	4,760	10,729
Total	191,329	57,874	249,203	70,501	22,947	93,448	342,651

 

Year ended 28 February 2023	Children's Trade £'000	Adult Trade £'000	Consumer £'000	Academic & Professional £'000	Special Interest £'000	Non-Consumer £'000	Total £'000
Print	90,481	44,702	135,183	32,942	17,841	50,783	185,966
Digital	13,599	11,374	24,973	39,051	2,293	41,344	66,317
Rights and Services1	4,817	1,720	6,537	3,756	1,526	5,282	11,819
Total	108,897	57,796	166,693	75,749	21,660	97,409	264,102

 

¹ Rights and Services revenue includes revenue from copyright and trademark licences, management contracts, advertising and publishing services.

 

 

Total assets

	29 February	28 February
	2024	2023
	£'000	£'000
Children's Trade	17,246	19,569
Adult Trade	12,104	14,493
Academic & Professional	71,186	77,918
Special Interest	13,043	14,381
Unallocated	258,164	188,752
Total assets	371,743	315,113

 

Unallocated primarily represents centrally held assets including system development, property plant and equipment, right-of-use assets, receivables and cash.

 

Analysis of non-current assets (excluding deferred tax assets and financial instruments) by geographic location

 

	29 February	28 February
	2024	2023
	£'000	£'000
United Kingdom (country of domicile)	67,800	71,311
North America	21,815	26,796
Other	422	421
Total	90,037	98,528

 

 

3.  Highlighted items

		Year ended	Year ended
		29 February	28 February
		2024	2023
		£'000	£'000
Legal and other professional fees		704	93
Integration and restructuring costs		1,617	364
Other highlighted items		2,321	457
Amortisation of acquired intangible assets		4,932	5,226
Total highlighted items		7,253	5,683

 

Highlighted items charged to operating profit comprise significant non-cash charges and major one-off initiatives which are highlighted in the income statement because, in the opinion of the Directors, separate disclosure is helpful in understanding the underlying performance and future profitability of the business.

All highlighted items are included in administrative expenses in the income statement.

For the year ended 29 February 2024, legal and other professional fees of £704,000 were incurred as a result of completed and ongoing acquisitions. Integration and restructuring costs primarily relate to the integration of the ABC-CLIO, LLC and Head of Zeus Limited and restructuring.

For the year ended 28 February 2023, legal and other professional fees of £93,000 were incurred as a result of the Group's acquisitions, including ABC-CLIO, LLC and certain assets of UIT Cambridge. Integration and restructuring costs primarily relate to the integration of the ABC-CLIO, LLC, Head of Zeus Limited acquisitions and certain assets of Red Globe Press.

 

4.  Taxation

Factors affecting tax charge for the year

The tax on the Group's profit before tax differs from the standard rate of corporation tax in the United Kingdom of 24.5% (2023: 19.0%).  The reasons for this are explained below:

	Year ended		Year ended
	29 February    2024		28 February    2023
	£'000	%	£'000		%
Profit before taxation	41,495	100.0	25,415		100.0
Profit on ordinary activities multiplied by the standard rate of corporation tax in the UK of 24.5% (2023: 19.0%)	10,166	24.5	4,829		19.0
Effects of:
Non-deductible revenue expenditure	93	0.2	67		0.3
Non-taxable income	(951)	(2.3)	(323)		(1.3)
Different rates of tax in foreign jurisdictions	542	1.3	865		3.4
Tax losses	(202)	(0.5)	189		0.7
Movement in deferred tax rate	(675)	(1.6)	(65)		(0.3)
Adjustment to tax charge in respect of prior years
Current tax	578	1.4	(1,123)		(4.4)
Deferred tax	(521)	(1.2)	724		2.9
Tax charge for the year before disallowable costs on highlighted items	9,030	21.8	5,163		20.3
Highlighted items:
Disallowable costs	170	0.4	8		-
Tax charge for the year	9,200	22.2	5,171		20.3

 

Different rates of tax in foreign jurisdictions is where we are paying tax at higher rates in the US (including paying state taxes) and Australia.

Tax losses relate to the recognition of previously unrecognised tax losses or losses in the year that have not been recognised as deferred tax assets.

Adjustments to prior periods primarily arise where an outcome is obtained on certain tax matters which differs from expectations held when the related provision was made. Where the outcome is more favourable than the provision made, the difference is released, lowering the current year tax charge. Where the outcome is less favourable than our provision, an additional charge to current year tax will occur.

We are not aware of any significant unprovided exposures that are considered likely to materialise.

5.  Dividends

	Year ended	Year ended
	29 February	28 February
	2024	2023
	£'000	£'000
Amounts paid in the year
Prior period 10.34p final dividend per share (2023: 9.40p)	8,336	7,604
Interim 3.70p dividend per share (2023: 1.41p)	3,012	1,148
Total dividend payments in the year	11,348	8,752
Amounts arising in respect of the year
Interim 3.70p dividend per share for the year (2023: 1.41p)	3,012	1,148
Proposed 10.99p final dividend per share for the year (2023: 10.34p)	8,950	8,397
Total dividend 14.69p per share for the year (2023: 11.75p)	11,962	9,545

 

The Directors are recommending a final dividend of 10.99 pence per share, which, subject to Shareholder approval at the Annual General Meeting, will be paid on 23 August 2024 to Shareholders on the register at close of business on 26 July 2024.

 

 

6.  Earnings per share

 

The basic earnings per share for the year ended 29 February 2024 is calculated using a weighted average number of Ordinary shares in issue of 81,212,654 (2023: 81,172,636) after deducting shares held by the Employee Benefit Trust.

The diluted earnings per share is calculated by adjusting the weighted average number of Ordinary shares to take account of all dilutive potential Ordinary shares, which are in respect of unexercised share options and the Performance Share Plan.

 

	Year ended	Year ended
	29 February	28 February
	2024	2023
	Number	Number
Weighted average shares in issue	81,212,654	81,172,636
Dilution	1,353,296	1,336,878
Diluted weighted average shares in issue	82,565,950	82,509,514
	£'000	£'000
Profit after tax attributable to owners of the Company	32,295	20,244
Basic earnings per share	39.77p	24.94p
Diluted earnings per share	39.11p	24.54p
	£'000	£'000
Adjusted profit attributable to owners of the Company	38,493	25,217
Adjusted basic earnings per share	47.40p	31.07p
Adjusted diluted earnings per share	46.62p	30.56p

 

 

Adjusted profit is derived as follows:

	Year ended	Year ended
	29 February	28 February
	2024	2023
	£'000	£'000
Profit before taxation	41,495	25,415
Amortisation of acquired intangible assets	4,932	5,226
Other highlighted items	2,321	457
Adjusted profit before tax	48,748	31,098

                                             

Tax expense	9,200	5,171
Deferred tax movements on goodwill and acquired intangible assets	656	631
Tax expense on other highlighted items	399	79
Adjusted tax	10,255	5,881

 

Adjusted earnings

38,493

25,217

 

 

The Group includes the benefit of tax amortisation of intangible assets in the calculation of adjusted

tax as this more accurately aligns the adjusted tax charge with the expected cash tax payments.

 

 

7.  Trade and other receivables

	29 February	28 February
	2024	2023
	£'000	£'000
Non-current
Contract assets	790	934
Current
Gross trade receivables	115,607	72,549
Less: loss allowance	(3,617)	(3,334)
Net trade receivables	111,990	69,215
Income tax recoverable	2,873	2,332
Other receivables	3,453	2,497
Prepayments	3,112	2,653
Contract assets	8,225	6,579
Royalty advances	35,143	29,543
Total current trade and other receivables	164,796	112,819
Total trade and other receivables	165,586	113,753

 

Non-current receivables relate to contract assets on long-term rights deals.

Trade receivables principally comprise amounts receivable from the sale of books due from distributors. The majority of trade debtors are secured by credit insurance and, in certain territories, by third party distributors.

A provision is held against gross advances payable in respect of published title advances which may not be fully earned down by anticipated future sales. As at 29 February 2024, £9,036,000 (2023: £7,745,000) of royalty advances relate to titles expected to be published in more than 12 months' time.

 

8.  Annual General Meeting 

 

The Annual General Meeting will be held on 16 July 2024.

9.  Report and Accounts

 

Copies of the Annual Report and Financial Statements will be circulated to shareholders in June and can be viewed after the posting date on the Bloomsbury website.

 

 

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