The Bloomsbury Publishing plc Board is recommending a final dividend of 12.12 pence per share. Together with the interim dividend, this makes a total dividend for 2025/26 of 16.20 pence per share, a 5% increase on the 15.43 pence dividend for 2024/25.
Subject to Shareholder approval at the AGM on 15 July 2026, the final dividend will be paid on 21 August 2026 to Shareholders on the register on the record date of 24 July 2026.
Other financial highlights include:
Bloomsbury's revenue was £325.9m (2024/25: 361.0m). Group profit before taxation and highlighted items was £44.9m (2024/25: £42.1m). Profit before taxation was £34.2m (2024/25: £32.5m).
Highlighted items totalled £10.7m (2024/25: £9.6m) comprising amortisation of acquired intangible assets of £9.0m (2024/25: £8.4m) and one-off integration and restructuring costs of £1.7m (2024/25: £1.2m).
The effective rate of tax for the year was 21.1% (2024/25: 21.9%), with an adjusted effective rate of tax, excluding highlighted items, of 18.5% (2024/25: 18.8%).
Diluted earnings per share, excluding highlighted items, were 44.57 pence (2024/25: 41.45 pence). Including highlighted items, profit before tax was £34.2m (2024/25: £32.5m) and diluted earnings per share 32.80 pence (2024/25: 30.71 pence).
Bloomsbury has a net cash position of £29.2m. In the first half we paid down an additional $10.0m of the debt following the acquisition of Rowman & Littlefield, taking the total repaid to $17.5m. The remaining loan of $20.0m matures in May 2027.
