Pottermore profits drop by 40% as lockdown sales bounce ‘unwinds’

Pottermore, the global digital publisher for J K Rowling’s Wizarding World, saw profits drop by 40% last year coming off a lockdown sales bounce.

Pre-tax profits dropped 40% to £5.7m in the 12 months to 31st March 2022, compared to £9.5m in the previous year. Revenues also "softened", dropping 6.4% to £37.8m from £40.4m in 2021, reflecting what the company describes as “the unwinding of the Covid sales bounce during lockdown”. 

The company’s "exceptional" 2021 results saw pre-tax profits soar 150% to £9.5m from £3.8m in 2020, while revenues saw an uplift of 24% from £32.5m in 2020 to £40.4m. The organisation said at the time that it benefitted from "a significantly increased appetite for digital reading during the pandemic, strong sales performance of the Harry Potter e-books and digital audiobooks and continued investment in franchise planning in partnership with Warner Bros".

Against the current backdrop of the “unwinding of the Covid sales bounce”, the company said it nevertheless delivered a “robust result” in 2021/22, “with digital reading remaining hugely popular” and “audiobook listening remain[ing] strong". It said that to date, trading in the current year (to 31st March 2023) has been in line with management expectations, that sales of Harry Potter e-books and digital audiobooks remain “buoyant" and that 2022/23 is set to deliver “another profitable performance”. At the end of last year, it was announced that more than one billion hours of Harry Potter stories have now been listened to on Audible. 

Jennie McCann, managing director, said: “Pottermore was launched in 2012 and has grown into one of the most successful digital publishing brands in the world. This is tribute to the compelling storytelling of the Wizarding World content, the hard work of the Pottermore team and the strength of our commercial partnerships.

“Our job is to make sure that as many people as possible around the world can enjoy the Harry Potter stories in digital formats. Embarking on the second decade of Pottermore’s journey, with plans to build on our success, we look to the future with considerable excitement.”