The phenomenal success of The Great British Bake Off and Masterchef has boosted profits at one of the UK’s leading publishers.
Bloomsbury – publisher of the Harry Potter books – said yesterday that it was looking forward to a strong Christmas thanks to the UK’s insatiable desire for cookbooks.
Titles such as Masterchef: the Finalists and the Paul Hollywood’s Pies and Puds were behind a strong increase in profits in the first half of the year.
In a trading update yesterday, the firm also revealed half of its best-selling titles were now sold as e-books in some markets.
Turnover for the six months to August 31 was £49.2million, up 13% on the same period last year.
This gave the company a pre-tax profit of £1.1million, up 33% on the £900,000 made last year.
In the UK e-book sales were up 58% year on year – and digital sales are now 12% of group sales.
Chief executive Nigel Newton said: “The group has made a good start to the year. In line with the company’s growth strategy, Bloomsbury has made significant progress in developing the academic and professional division.
“We start the second half with a strong programme, including MasterChef: The Finalists and The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert.”
Debenhams blamed “very difficult conditions” as annual profits slipped after a mixed year for the department store chain due to volatile weather.
The firm posted a 2.7% drop in pre-tax profits to £154million for the year to August 31 following a tough first half after January’s snowstorms saw it warn over profits, while dismal spring weather dampened demand for new ranges.