Canongate reports 'stable' 2019

Canongate and Severn House have announced their 2019 results, reporting a consolidated turnover of £11.9m, on a par with 2018's results. 

However, the companies saw a decline in pretax profits, which dropped from £966,272 to £729,000. 

Canongate’s turnover came in at £9.4m, on which it made a £342,000 pretax profit.

Severn House saw turnover increase to £2.6m, with Candace Robb’s A Conspiracy of Wolves a key success, and the business delivered a pretax profit of £387,000 to the group. 

My Name is Why by Lemn Sissay and Booker-longlisted Night Boat to Tangier by Kevin Barry both proved hardback bestseller standouts. In addition, 2019 proved a "record-breaking year" for backlist sales, as well as showing growth in audio, the publisher said.

For the period beginning 1st January and ending 31st December 2019,  the group paid its authors and their agents £4.5m.

Commenting on the results, Canongate chairman David Young said: “It’s a real privilege to publish books and writers that you feel passionate about, and it’s reassuring to know through our results that our readers share this enthusiasm. Last year was a solid year for the company and, in spite of everything, we’ve been able to build on that success in 2020 and feel very positive about the direction Canongate is heading.”