Jessica Kingsley boosts turnover

Group turnover for UK indie Jessica Kingsley Publishers (JKP) was up 13% to £6.1m for the year ending December 2016, delivering a 30th consecutive year of growth, according to the publisher.

Digital sales represented around 13% of group turnover, a similar percentage level to that achieved in 2015. Export sales in 2016 were around 52% of group sales. Operating profit was around 11% of group turnover and the company has cash resources of £1.9m at the end of 2016.

The first four months in 2017 continue to show “encouraging” group growth and sales are “already significantly ahead” of the same period last year, the publisher said, adding: “With over 260 new titles scheduled for publication in the full year, it is hoped that December 2017 will see sales approaching £7m.” Backlist sales remain the “bedrock” of the business and are showing steady growth year-on- year, it added.

New areas of commissioning, such as gender diversity (launched in January this year), are proving “highly successful” in both sales and profile-building, along with JKP’s specialist areas of publishing-including autism, social work, dementia and arts therapies.

Founder Jessica Kingsley said: “It feels very good to have completed this milestone year with an unbroken record of profit and growth. It may in some ways have felt like 30 years’ hard labour, but it is enormously satisfying to know that the books we publish make a real difference to people’s lives. We have a fantastic team at the moment, and the sense of shared values and vision for the future makes me very optimistic about what JKP can do in the future.”