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Bloomsbury lifted by Potter magic -
Summary:
Bloomsbury lifted by Potter magic
Article:
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Mugglepride
Publisher Bloomsbury says a spellbinding performance from Harry Potter had buoyed book sales over Christmas.
The series by author JK Rowling had its "best year to date" as the popularity of the adventures of the schoolboy wizard showed no signs of slowing down.
Sales in the three months to December 31 were strong with Schott's Food and Drink Miscellany staking a place on the best-seller list following its launch in November.
Its children's division also scored success with a sudden upswing in demand for Louis Sachar's Holes - first published by Bloomsbury in 2000.
Bloomsbury, which did not give specific sales figures, said the strong performance across its portfolio meant pre-tax profits for the year to December 31 were in line with City forecasts of £15.3 million, compared with £11.2 million a year ago.
Analysts predict a 25% hike in sales to £85 million during the year, but the update failed to lift shares in Bloomsbury which fell 5% in trading to 260p.
Bloomsbury said the popularity of two almanacs boosted sales of reference books at its subsidiary A&C Black.
Four derivative titles of Whitaker's Almanac were published in the period and ensured sales of the reference book continued to grow following its launch within the group in 2002.
A&C Black added to its titles with the recent acquisition of the Reed's Nautical Almanac series, which was first published in 1932 and has current sales of £600,000 a year.
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