Record 2021 for Bonnier Books as UK arm reports 'strong' sales and profit

Bonnier Books has reported a record year in 2021, with “strong” sales and profit for its UK arm, thanks to a surge in physical book sales driven by children’s titles.

The trading figures were revealed in a report by Swedish parent company Bonnier Group, released on 10th February. 

At Bonnier Books, sales soared  to SEK 6.9bn (£550m) from SEK 6.1bn (£480m) compared to the year before thanks to “sharp growth” in publishing and the performance of audiobooks and e-book service BookBeat. The publishing division as a whole had its most profitable year ever, with EBITA (earnings before interest, taxes and amortisation) for Bonnier Books of SEK 573m (£45.4m), up from SEK 392m (£31m), despite “significant continued investments in BookBeat and losses from book stores”. 

The UK arm had a strong sales and profit performance “in a market where more books were being sold and at a higher price than for the past 10 years”. The acquisition of Scottish indie Black & White Publishing last year “further strengthened” the UK operation.

Across Bonnier Books, a “strong rise” in physical book sales was reported, particularly in children’s titles. The company said: “The success of children’s books was most apparent in Germany, and was one of the main reasons for the German publishing group’s record-breaking results this year, as it achieved its highest ever sales and profits for the second year in a row.”

In Finland, Werner Söderström also achieved record results, attributed largely to increased digital revenues. Swedish entity Bonnierförlagen also “performed better than last year” in sales and profits.

BookBeat’s sales, meanwhile, rose from SEK 508m (£40.2m) last year to SEK 690m (£54.6m) in 2021. The number of users rose by 38% and last year it was expanded to Norway, Switzerland and Austria.

Profitability at Swedish online bookstore Adlibris also improved with sales up 3% to SEK 2.8bn (£220m).  EBITA for the year amounted to SEK 72m (£5.7m), an improvement of SEK 22m (£1.7m) compared to 2020. This was partly attributed to “continued optimisation of the logistics chain from purchase to delivery”.

For the Bonnier Group as a whole, EBITA increased by SEK 500m (£39.6m)and investments gained in value by SEK 1.7bn (£130m).

Bonnier Group c.e.o. Stina Andersson said: “Last year was an exceptional year and overall the results were among the best in Bonnier’s history. Several companies have posted their best ever results, confirming our strategic direction of giving our companies independence.”