Profile turnover up 11% in 'solid' year

Profile has reported "solid" results for the financial year 2022-23, with turnover at £18.5m, up 11% on 2021-22. The publisher reported operating profit at 12% of turnover, at £2.2m, an increase on the previous year’s £1.5m. 

The crime genre was particularly strong for Profile this year, with The Twyford Code by Janice Hallett on the Viper crime list being crowned Book of the Year in the Crime & Thriller category at the British Book Awards. Meanwhile, Viper took home Best Crime and Mystery Publisher at the CWA Daggers 2023. 

Other strongly performing titles included Beryl by Jeremy Wilson (Pursuit), which won the Sunday Times Sports Book of the Year 2023, among other awards. Moreover, Butler to the World by Oliver Bullough (Profile) was longlisted for the Financial Times Business Book of the Year 2022, while Viper’s Leonora Nattrass scored a Waterstones Thriller of the Month with Blue Water.

According to the publisher, authors Robert Greene, Ryan Holiday and Julia Cameron all continued to strike a chord with readers and saw "significant" sales driven through TikTok. In addition, Souvenir’s Murdle by G T Karber has triumphed in the charts, spending two weeks as Bookscan’s bestselling non-fiction title across all formats, and four at the top of the paperback non-fiction list, paving the way for Murdle: More Killer Puzzles this autumn.

Managing director Rebecca Gray commented: "It’s been another good year despite uncertain times. As ever, that is due to the intensive work of many people – our authors, Profile colleagues and associates, and the people who sell our books here and around the world. Luckily for us the book trade is flexible, resilient and optimistic – one of the many things that makes it the best place to be."