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15 Jun 2022
Bloomsbury Publishing : An exciting new era - Buy

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Bloomsbury Publishing : An exciting new era - Buy
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc (BMY:LON) | 476 -4.8 (-0.2%) | Mkt Cap: 388.0m
- Published:
15 Jun 2022 -
Author:
Alastair Reid | Ross Broadfoot -
Pages:
6 -
The latest excellent chapter: Bloomsbury have today reported record FY results – revenue of £230.1m (up 15% organically), PBT of £26.7m (up 40%) and EPS of 25.94p were all ahead of recently upgraded expectations. A net cash position of £41m helped underpin a FY dividend of 10.74p. Both divisions saw a strong performance – demonstrating the strength of the company’s long-term strategy - Consumer saw 18% organic growth, with profitability in the Children’s segment a notable stand-out. Academic & Professional (A&P) grew 34%, with Bloomsbury Digital Resources significantly outperforming management’s previous targets (£18.6m of revenue versus a target of £15m). This has all been achieved despite supply chain headwinds and print cost inflation.
Multiple levers for growth: On the outlook, management note good sales in Q1, with trading in-line with expectations thus far, allowing them to continue plans to invest robustly in both organic growth and future acquisitions (the virtuous flywheel we have previously highlighted). The new illustrated Harry Potter edition should support growth this year, and in A&P we believe the recent US acquisition and the 18% growth in customer numbers in FY22 should both underpin progress towards the next divisional targets.
Attractions under-appreciated: We leave FY23/24E estimates broadly unchanged (PBT up c.1%), with LT EPS impacted by planned UK tax rate changes. The shares currently trade at c.8x CY23E EBITDA /16x PE – with the company delivering resilient structural growth, and operating in an industry seeing consolidation, we continue to believe this is a fundamental mispricing.