Bloomsbury Publishing (BMY) could not repeat the prior year's exceptional cookery sales during the first half, which resulted in a 12 per cent dip in revenues for the consumer division. Still, a punchy anticipated line up of titles – including an illustrated edition of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire – means that we can anticipate a stronger-than-usual second-half weighting, management said.
Within the non-consumer business, academic and professional sales rose by 9 per cent – fuelled by a 73 per cent spike in revenue from Bloomsbury Digital Resources 2020, which swung into profit.
Bloomsbury’s cash position also edged up, with a focus on working capital leading to a 5 per cent like-for-like reduction in inventories. Such cash could provide firepower for transactional activity; the group has completed 14 acquisitions since 2008, and notes that it is upping its M&A personnel resources.
House broker Investec expects adjusted pre-tax profits of £15.9m and EPS of 16.5p for the year to February 2020, up from £14.4m and 15p in FY2019.
| BLOOMSBURY PUBLISHING (BMY) | ||||
| ORD PRICE: | 250p | MARKET VALUE: | £188m | |
| TOUCH: | 248-250p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 268p | LOW: 190p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 3.2% | PE RATIO: | 21 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 190p* | NET CASH: | £20.1m** | |
| Half-year to 31 Aug | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
| 2018 | 75.3 | 1.6 | 1.7 | 1.21 |
| 2019 | 71.3 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 1.28 |
| % change | -5 | -16 | -22 | +6 |
| Ex-div: | 7 Nov | |||
| Payment: | 6 Dec | |||
| *Includes intangible assets of £66.3m, or 88p a share **Excludes lease liabilities of £14.3m | ||||
