Bloomsbury Publishing PLC on Wednesday reported a double-digit jump in yearly revenue, achieving a record high, as a pandemic-induced surge in reading continued.

For the year ended February 28, the London-based publisher’s revenue climbed 24% to £230.1 million, from £185.1 million. Compared to the pre-pandemic financial 2020, revenue was 41% higher.

Bloomsbury achieved record annual revenue.

Pretax profit rose by 28% to £22.2 million from £17.3 million and jumped 68% from pre-virus times.

‘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,’ Chief Executive Nigel Newton said.

Bloomsbury’s Consumer division’s revenue grew by 25%. The Non-Consumer division saw 23% revenue growth.

Bloomsbury declared a final dividend of 9.4 pence per share, up 24% from the previous year, taking the total dividend for financial 2022 to 10.74p, a 21% increase from 8.86p.

Looking ahead, the company plans to invest in continued organic growth and more acquisitions based on its strong financial position and proven strategy.

‘Trading for 2022/23 has started in line with the board’s expectations,’ it noted.

Bloomsbury Publishing shares were up 2.7% at 390.25 pence each on Wednesday morning in London.

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