Bloomsbury's profits performing 'well ahead' of expectations

Bloomsbury Publishing has said it achieved "excellent sales" in January and February this year and revealed its annual profits are performing "well ahead" of expectations.

Ahead of its audited results for 2018 (to the year ended 28th February), set to be released in May, Bloomsbury has released a trading update, revealing that revenues are "slightly ahead" of expectations, while the board predicts profits will be "well ahead" of expectations.

Acording to the publisher, the update follows "excellent sales", particularly in January and February this year, with lower than anticipated returns, driven by certain titles including Tom Kerridge's Lose Weight For Good, which has been number one in the overall Nielsen BookScan UK chart for four weeks since its publication on December 28th 2018.

In addition, the group's net cash balance is now expected to be around £25m, "significantly ahead" of expectations.

The group will report its final results for the year ended 28th February 2018 on 22th May 2018.