Harry Potter publisher Bloomsbury’s annual profit rises as readers lap up novels

(Reuters) -Bloomsbury Publishing posted a rise in full-year profit on Wednesday, helping the Harry Potter publisher propose a 10% hike in final dividend, as readers lapped up novels and online learning boosted demand for its digital academic resources.

A string of acquisitions to boost its portfolio and resilient demand for books as a form of affordable entertainment have helped Bloomsbury keep up demand amid still-high inflation.

Bloomsbury’s profit before tax stood at 31.1 million pounds ($39.25 million) for the year ended Feb. 28, compared with 26.7 million pounds a year earlier. Revenue rose 15% to 264.1 million pounds.

Trading for the year has started in line with the company’s expectations, Bloomsbury said, adding that it had proposed to increase its final dividend to 10.34 pence per share.

($1 = 0.7923 pounds)

(Reporting by Eva Mathews in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)