Publishing group Quercus has spent the first half of the year using the proceeds from the uber successful Stieg Larsson Millennium Trilogy to diversify away from Larsson-based revenues. The success of the books has resulted in a tough set of comparatives and, inevitably, revenues dipped. However, the company has reduced its dependence on Larsson books, which now account for 35 per cent of trade book sales, down from 78 per cent previously.
A number of best-sellers were published in the period, including The King's Speech by Mark Logue and Brian Reade's tale of Liverpool FC's flirtation with collapse An Epic Swindle. These have helped non-Larsson revenues grow 69 per cent, albeit from a low base. A strong pipeline is planned in the second half, including Steph Penny's next fiction novel, The Invisible Ones.
A US joint venture with Sterling Publishing and Barnes & Noble - Silver Oak - has also been launched and has already produced a New York Times bestseller in Roslund & Hellstrom's Three Seconds.
Meanwhile, digital sales have soared and now account for 10.5 per cent of group sales and distribution deals have been signed with Google and Apple.
Analysts at Edison Investment Research are expecting full-year adjusted pre-tax profits of £6.4m and EPS of 23.1p (from £7.5m and 26.7p in 2010).
QUERCUS PUBLISHING (QUPP) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 123p | MARKET VALUE: | £25.2m | |
| TOUCH: | 118-128p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 150p | LOW: 114p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 4.1% | PE RATIO: | 4 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 55p | NET CASH: | £6.4m | |
| Half-year to 30 Jun | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 15 | 3.30 | 13.1 | nil |
| 2011 | 12 | 3.43 | 12.9 | nil |
| % change | -20 | +4 | -2 | - |
