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Company ups guidance with two key 2021 acquisitions set to provide a strategic boost
Thursday 03 Feb 2022 Author: Mark Gardner

Bloomsbury Publishing (BMY) 390p

Original entry point: Buy at 283p 4 February 2021.

Gain to date: 37.8%


The late January trading update from book publisher Bloomsbury (BMY) revealed that profits for the year to 28 February would be materially ahead of market expectations. This prompted a series of earnings upgrades and we think investors should play the momentum in the shares.

Trading was strong in the consumer division, both for adult and children’s publishing. Moreover the group’s digital arm has reached
its long-term target of achieving sales of £15 million and £5 million of profit by the end of this financial year.

Moving forward the company is likely to benefit from two strategic acquisitions made in 2021.

Red Global Press, picked up in the spring, strengthens Bloomsbury’s digital resources division. It has a backlist of more than 7,000 titles and publishes more than 100 new titles a year.

And the purchase of ABC-CLIO, announced in December, will accelerate Bloomsbury’s academic publishing push in North America.

Bloomsbury Publishing is a high quality business that continually delivers and has scarcity value. It is rich in intellectual property and benefits from both geographic, format and topic diversity.

It also has a record of strong strategic planning delivered by an experienced management team.


SHARES SAYS: Still a buy.

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