E-book sales soaring as Bloomsbury hails new chapter in publishing

Publisher Bloomsbury yesterday revealed a further acceleration in demand for e-books as more consumers downloaded titles to read on Kindles and other electronic devices.

Sales of e-books hit 1.5 million in 2010, against 79,000 the previous year, driven by strong growth in the US and a surge in demand from the UK, which started in the final quarter.

The growth in demand has continued, with Bloomsbury selling 1.1m of e-books in the first three months of this year.

The company, celebrating its 25th anniversary, said the e-book had prompted one of the most profound changes in the publishing industry since the birth of the printing press.

Nigel Newton, chief executive, said: "This is an exciting time for Bloomsbury. Demand for digital delivery, including e-books, is increasing significantly. It will change the publishing business model creating one worldwide market."

Jeremy Wilson, the group's chairman, said "the publishing world is handling it own revolution" against the tough backdrop of major public debt and fiscal imbalances. "Digital competence is undermining old business models, spawning new ones and allowing major new forces to transform - or render irrelevant - traditional relationships," Wilson said.

The group said the downloading of titles to read on Kindles and other devices showed strong growth in the US throughout the period and a leap in demand in the UK in the final quarter. It predicted Germany would see the next digital boom.

The company's best-sellers in the period included Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat, Pray, Love, which was turned into a movie starring Julia Roberts, and Man Booker Prize winning The Finkler Question.

Bloomsbury is also digitising the Winston Churchill Archives. The group launched Bloomsbury Australia in January this year, having acquired Bristol Classical Press and Duckworth Academic in November 2010.

Bloomsbury, which is changing its tax year, yesterday said revenues rose to 103.4 million in the 14 months to 28 February, compared with 87.2m in the 12 months to December 2009. Pre-tax profits dropped to 4.2m from 7.1m in the previous year. The final two months of its new trading year delivered a small loss, which is normal for the time of year, it said. It ended the period with net cash slightly increased to 36.9m from 35m at the end of 2009.

The board is recommending a final dividend of 0.28p. Together with the interim dividend and second interim dividend, the total shareholder payout for the 14-month period is 5p - up 13 per cent on the total 4.43p payout in 2009.

Bloomsbury's shares closed down 2p at 130p, compared with a 52-week high of 139.5p.The stock has rise 10 per cent in the past few months, partly in anticipation of the positive news on the digital publishing front.