Interim Results

Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
17 September 2002



                         BLOOMSBURY PUBLISHING PLC
             Interim Results for the Six Months Ended 30 June 2002


London, 17 September 2002: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, one of Europe's leading
independent publishing houses with a highly valuable portfolio of intellectual
properties, is pleased to announce interim results for the six months ended 30
June 2002.


Highlights

• Turnover: up 8.0% to £24.54m (2001: £22.72m)

• Operating margin before goodwill amortisation: increased to 10.7%
  (2001: 10.4%)

• Pre-tax profit before goodwill amortisation: up 9.8% to £3.13m  (2001:
  £2.85m)

• Basic earnings per share before goodwill amortisation: up 9.6% to
  12.82 pence (2001: 11.70 pence)

• Dividend: up 10% to 1.65 pence for the half-year (2001: 1.5 pence)

• Cash balances: up 59.9% to £24.96m (30 June 2001: £15.61m)

• US Children's list launched

• Launch of BUSINESS: The Ultimate Resource

• Strong Autumn fiction list



Nigel Newton, Chairman of Bloomsbury Publishing, commenting on the company's
outlook, said:

'During the first half of 2002 Bloomsbury developed its reference activities, an
area which we predict will expand rapidly over the next few years.  Existing
databases were further exploited in both print and electronic formats and a new
database was completed, leading to today's launch of BUSINESS: The Ultimate
Resource.  We have made four acquisitions this year, and have also signed up
several established best-selling authors. None of the acquisitions have made a
material contribution to operations for the first six months of this year.

The diversity of the group's operations has generated organic growth even during
a period of economic uncertainty. Turnover increased 8.0% to £24.537m, (2001:
£22.721m) on the back of a solid performance from A&C Black, the Adult and
Children's list. The gross margin for the group was 46.5% (2001: 45.1%), which
was due to strong sales of the Bloomsbury Adult list.

There will be a presentation to analysts today at 9.30 a.m. at Investec
Securities, 2 Gresham Street, London, EC2.


For further information, please contact:

Simon Forrest, Impact Consultancy                          07885 317 746
Kirsty Black, Impact Consultancy                           07961 433 041
Impact Consultancy, Switchboard                            020 7479 4770

Nigel Newton, Chairman, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc          020 7494 6015





                           BLOOMSBURY PUBLISHING PLC
                          Chairman's Interim Statement

OVERVIEW

During the first half of 2002 Bloomsbury developed its reference activities, an
area which we predict will expand rapidly over the next few years.  Existing
databases were further exploited in both print and electronic formats and a new
database was completed, leading to today's launch of BUSINESS: The Ultimate
Resource.  We have made four acquisitions this year, and have also signed up
several established best-selling authors.  None of the acquisitions have made a
material contribution to operations for the first six months of this year.

The diversity of the group's operations has generated organic growth during a
period of economic uncertainty. Turnover increased 8.0% to £24.537m, (2001:
£22.721m) on the back of a solid performance from A&C Black, the Adult and
Children's lists. The gross margin for the group was 46.5% (2001: 45.1%), which
was due to strong sales of the Bloomsbury Adult list. The increase in gross
margin lifted the group's operating margin before goodwill amortisation to 10.7%
(2001: 10.4%). Pre-tax profit before goodwill increased 9.8% to £3.128m (2001:
£2.850m). Earnings per share before goodwill amortisation increased 9.6% to
12.82 pence (2001: 11.70 pence).

The group continues to generate strong cash flows, with cash on deposit
increasing to £24.957m (31 December 2001: £16.792m), which includes £0.864m set
aside for loan note holders (31 December 2001: £1.779m). Cash generated from
operations is already being redeployed in the business with gross investment in
royalty advances for future unpublished titles at the end of July up 50.2% to
£10.71m (31 December 2001: £7.13m) and cash commitments after deduction of
tranches of advances already paid on these titles at the end of July up 61.3% to
£6.71m (31 December 2001: £4.16m).



INTERIM DIVIDEND

The directors have declared an interim dividend of 1.65 pence per share (2001:
1.5 pence per share), which will be paid on 22 November 2002 to those
shareholders on the register at close of business on 1 November 2002. The
increase on the dividend takes account of the profit growth and cash generation
of the company but also reflects the need to retain funds for future organic and
acquisition growth.



ACQUISITIONS

In May, A&C Black acquired Whitaker's Almanack from The Stationery Office.
Whitaker's Almanack is one of the UK's best-known reference brands, having been
published annually since 1868.  It offers A&C Black many opportunities to
exploit the content, using the skills of both the A&C Black and Bloomsbury
Reference and Electronic Media teams. We are already hard at work re-positioning
the Almanack with an extensive marketing campaign and the response from the book
trade has been positive.  Sir Trevor McDonald is writing the Foreword to the
2003 edition, which will be released on 31 October.

The T & AD Poyser list was acquired in July, making A&C Black the world's
largest ornithology publisher. The backlist consists of seventy titles and
includes seven previous winners of the Best Bird Book of the Year, awarded by
the journal British Birds, two winners of the Birdwatch Bird Book of the Year,
and three titles shortlisted for the BP Natural World Book Prize.

Poyser has a strong forward programme. Specialist titles such as species
monographs will continue to be published under the T & AD Poyser imprint, while
others will become Helm titles.  The T & AD Poyser titles appeal to the keen
amateur bird watcher and the professional ornithologist.

On 9 September, A&C Black acquired the Thomas Reed Publications nautical list of
over 100 titles.  It has been publishing books since 1782. The list fits in well
with the existing Adlard Coles nautical list and is aimed at the practical
leisure boating market and professional training for merchant mariners.

On 16 September, Bloomsbury announced the acquisition of Peter Collin
Publishing, a specialist dictionary and language publisher.  Peter Collin
Publishing is well known in academic and international markets for its range of
high-quality English and bilingual dictionaries.  It publishes one hundred and
thirty specialist dictionaries and language titles that are used by students,
translators and professionals around the world. The acquisition complements
Bloomsbury's existing dictionary activities and also provides a springboard for
future expansion into the reference market in the USA.

All four acquisitions show Bloomsbury's dedication to expanding and
strengthening its reference activities, which are a key driver of growth for the
group.  The acquisitions have great potential to add to the group's future
profitability.



OPERATIONAL REVIEW


BOOK DIVISION

Adult Books

The Adult books division continues to build on its success, with several
bestsellers from both new and established authors having been published this
year, and a very strong forward list for the remainder of the year.

Long-term Bloomsbury authors with new books in 2002 include Joanna Trollope,
whose new novel, A Girl From The South, was published in February and went
straight into the bestseller list, whilst The World Below, by Sue Miller, was
published in March simultaneously with a re-launch of her backlist. Anthony
Bourdain's A Cook's Tour, follow-up to his bestselling Kitchen Confidential, was
published in January and is set to become a major paperback.

The Bloomsbury list has been further strengthened with the addition of several
established bestselling authors, including the distinguished Booker shortlisted
author, Romesh Gunesekera, who brings his third novel Heaven's Edge, and Ethan
Hawke, the Hollywood actor whose second novel, Ash Wednesday has just been
published.  The second half is also strong for Adult Fiction; Donna Tartt, who
experienced huge success with her first novel, The Secret History, will have her
new book The Little Friend published by Bloomsbury in October, whilst
bestselling author Tim Pears' new novel, Wake Up, is also due out in the Autumn.
In October, we will publish Jeffrey Eugenides' remarkable novel Middlesex which
has the makings of a classic.

It was recently announced that Bloomsbury will be publishing the actress Sheila
Hancock's memoir of her late husband, John Thaw, beloved by millions for his
portrayal of Inspector Morse.  This book is destined to be an enormous
bestseller.

Children's Fiction

Children's Fiction is experiencing a busy 2002, with sales of both new titles
and backlisted books remaining buoyant.

Sorceress, the sequel to the highly acclaimed Witch Child, was published in
March.  The book has generated strong sales in both the UK hardback market and
the paperback export markets, whilst Witch Child, now on the Bloomsbury
backlist, also remains popular.  The Children's Fiction backlist continues to
strengthen, with books such as Missing and Louis Sachar's bestselling Holes, now
in its third year of publication.  A film of Holes is due to be released later
this year, and is expected to further boost sales.

Since the end of the period under review, Bloomsbury has published cult adult
writer Neil Gaiman's first book for children, Coraline.  Other forthcoming
publications include Stravaganza - City Of Masks by Mary Hoffman, a book which
aroused considerable interest at the Bologna Book Fair in April and resulted in
very strong international rights' sales.

The Harry Potter backlist continues to sell extremely well and we expect that
the release of the second film, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, on 15th
November, will further boost sales of the existing books. The publication date
of the fifth Harry Potter will be announced after it has been delivered.


USA

Bloomsbury USA has experienced an exciting six months and several important
developments.  In line with the plans announced at the end of 2001, the
Children's list was launched in May 2002 and was enthusiastically received and
supported by the US children's book market.  The US division continues to work
closely with the Bloomsbury team in the UK, simultaneously publishing with the
UK on a regular basis.  This co-operation has resulted in the new Children's
list enjoying the benefits of larger print runs and lower production costs.

The Autumn promises more activity, with two Bloomsbury authors to be featured on
the NBC Today Show. The highlight of the year is expected to be the worldwide
publication of Professor Derrick Bell's Ethical Ambition.


REFERENCE AND ELECTRONIC MEDIA

The first six months of 2002 was a period where we completed in a number of
significant projects in the Reference and Electronic Media Division.

Publication of the Encarta World English Dictionary in 1999 was the first in a
planned range of dictionaries across key formats and price points. In early
2002, the third main dictionary to be derived from the Encarta database was
finished - the Encarta Pocket English Dictionary, which was published in August
2002.  Alongside the Pocket Dictionary we published the Encarta Pocket
Thesaurus, derived from last year's successful Encarta Thesaurus.  Bloomsbury's
US partners have published the American English editions of these titles at the
same time.  About fourteen million words of text from the Encarta Dictionary
Database have now been published in the various editions.

The first publication from Bloomsbury's second major dictionary database aimed
at the one billion learners of the English language around the world was
launched in March 2002 to critical acclaim and sales success. Published as the
Macmillan English Dictionary and sold through Macmillan's global sales network
for the English Language Teaching market, the dictionary sold over a quarter of
a million copies in its first six months and has been reprinted three times.

The division's main activity in the first half of 2002 has been the completion
of BUSINESS - The Ultimate Resource TM, which is launched today. This volume,
praised by The Wall Street Journal as 'the most ambitious business book ever'
has been three years in the making and adds another four million words to
Bloomsbury's range of reference content. Among the 245 contributors to the work
are Charles Handy, Meredith Belbin, Philip Kotler and Edward de Bono.

Bloomsbury now has over eleven international publishing partners for the project
and there is excellent further development potential for the database in a
variety of electronic formats and higher margin professional markets.  Central
to this project have been Perseus Books, who publish in North America, the
economist.com who have licensed non-exclusive electronic rights, London Business
School, who will make part of the database available to their students, alumni
and executive training customers, and Franklin Inc, who will publish versions
for PDA devices, such as Palm.


A & C BLACK

During 2002, A & C Black has made three acquisitions.  In May, the company
acquired Whitaker's Almanack, and is building a significant media campaign for
the 2003 edition, which will be published in October 2002.  T&AD Poyser was
acquired in July and the Thomas Reed nautical list acquired in September.  All
three acquisitions are a good strategic fit for A & C Black's existing
specialist publishing lists, two of them confirming the company's market leading
position in ornithology and nautical publishing.

Publications during the first six months include the Blue Guide: London, which
was published in May with an extensive marketing campaign, and Food For Fitness,
by Anita Bean. The growth of A & C Black's sports list reflects the rapidly
expanding fitness and health market.  Early 2002 also saw the publication of the
40th edition of Black's Medical Dictionary, a title which has sold over one
million copies since it was first published in 1904.

A & C Black won the tender to be one of two publishing partners to the Royal
Society for the Protection of Birds, which has over one million members, and in
May published the RSPB Handbook of British Birds, already a bestseller.

The children's educational resources list was expanded with a new series of
photocopiable resources, Ideas to Go, and was the runner up for the prestigious
Aventis Science award for its Cartoon History of the World series for children.



OUTLOOK

The Autumn 2002 list is Bloomsbury's strongest ever, reflecting the considerable
investment Bloomsbury has made in acquiring major titles and recruiting skilled
staff.  The Reference and Electronic Media division is proving to be a key
growth area; the development of the Encarta English Dictionary database has
demonstrated the increasing potential of electronic publishing.  This capability
has already been applied to other titles; January saw the publication of the
electronic version of Who's Who, a title ideally suited to electronic medium,
which paves the way for further exploitation of that database and others such as
Whitaker's Almanack.  Business: The Ultimate Resource, launched today in print
and electronic format, may become a business classic.

The Board remains confident of a satisfactory outcome to the year.



Nigel Newton
Chairman
17 September 2002




RESULTS

The consolidated unaudited profit and loss account for the six months ended 30
June 2002 was as follows:

                                                6 months ended 30  6 months ended 30         Year Ended 31
                                                        June 2002          June 2001         December 2001
                                                      (unaudited)        (unaudited)             (audited)     
                                                            £'000              £'000                 £'000

Turnover                                                   24,537             22,721                61,140
Cost of sales                                            (13,132)           (12,468)              (34,086)

Gross profit                                               11,405             10,253                27,054
Marketing and distribution costs                          (3,221)            (2,565)               (8,482)
Administrative expenses                                   (5,560)            (5,333)              (10,096)
Goodwill amortisation                                       (300)              (299)                 (600)

Operating profit                                            2,324              2,056                 7,876
Net interest receivable                                       504                495                   877

Profit on ordinary activities before taxation               2,828              2,551                 8,753
Taxation                                                    (953)              (872)               (2,852)

Profit on ordinary activities after taxation                1,875              1,679                 5,901
Dividends                                                   (282)              (254)               (1,068)

Retained profit for the period                              1,593              1,425                 4,833

Basic earnings per share                                   11.05p              9.93p                34.86p

Diluted earnings per share                                 10.33p              9.25p                32.50p

Basic earnings per share before goodwill                   12.82p             11.70p                38.41p

Diluted earnings per share before goodwill                 11.98p             10.90p                35.80p




CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET
                     
                                                     30 June 2002         30 June 2001     31 December 2001
                                                      (unaudited)          (unaudited)            (audited)
                                                            £'000                £'000                £'000
Fixed assets
Intangible assets                                          11,417               11,368               11,067
Tangible assets                                             1,218                1,167                1,139
                                                           12,635               12,535               12,206

Current assets
Stocks                                                     12,359               13,494               12,493
Debtors due within one year                                 9,604               11,404               26,165
Debtors due after more than one year                        3,663                5,240                3,859
Cash at bank and in hand                                   24,957               15,610               16,792
                                                           50,583               45,748               59,309

Creditors: amounts falling due within one
year                                                       16,655               14,463               26,441

Net current assets                                         33,928               31,285               32,868

Total assets less current liabilities                      46,563               43,820               45,074

Creditors: amounts falling due after more
than one year                                                 298                  936                  279

Provisions for liabilities and charges                        971                2,703                1,166

                                                           45,294               40,181               43,629

Equity capital and reserves
Called up share capital                                       850                  846                  848
Share premium account                                      31,343               31,235               31,273
Capital redemption reserve                                      9                    9                    9
Profit and loss account                                    13,092                8,091               11,499

Total shareholders' funds                                  45,294               40,181               43,629





CONSOLIDATED CASH FLOW STATEMENT

                                                6 months ended 30   6 months ended 30         Year ended 31
                                                        June 2002           June 2001         December 2001
                                                      (unaudited)         (unaudited)             (audited)
                                                            £'000               £'000                 £'000

Net cash inflow from operating activities                  12,045               8,508                12,506

Returns on investments and servicing of
finance
Interest paid                                                (22)                   -                  (68)
Interest received                                             526                 495                   945

Net cash inflow from returns on investments                   
and servicing of finance                                      504                 495                   877

Taxation
Tax paid                                                  (2,278)                   -               (2,716)

Capital expenditure
Purchase of tangible fixed assets                           (229)               (208)                 (320)
Sale of tangible fixed assets                                  16                  10                    16
                                                            (213)               (198)                 (304)

Acquisitions
Purchase of publishing assets                             (1,050)                   -                     -

Equity dividends paid                                           -               (676)                 (930)

Financing
Repayment of loans                                          (915)                   -                 (210)
Share options exercised                                        72                   9                    97

Net cash (outflow) / inflow                                 (843)                   9                 (113)

Increase in cash                                            8,165               8,138                 9,320





RECONCILIATION OF OPERATING PROFIT TO NET CASH FLOW FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES

                                                6 months ended 30    6 months ended 30         Year ended 31
                                                        June 2002            June 2001         December 2001     
                                                      (unaudited)          (unaudited)             (audited)
                                                            £'000                £'000                 £'000

Operating profit                                            2,324                2,056                 7,876
Depreciation of tangible fixed assets                         140                  134                   268
Goodwill amortisation                                         300                  299                   600
Profit on disposal of tangible fixed assets                   (6)                  (6)                   (6)
Decrease / (increase) in stocks                               496              (1,995)                 (994)
Decrease in debtors                                        16,795               17,143                 3,704
(Decrease) / increase in creditors                        (8,004)              (9,123)                 1,058

Net cash inflow from operating activities                  12,045                8,508                12,506





RECONCILIATION TO NET FUNDS / DEBT

                                                     6 months ended 30 6 months ended 30          Year ended
                                                             June 2002         June 2001    31 December 2001
                                                           (unaudited)       (unaudited)           (audited)
                                                                 £'000             £'000               £'000

Increase in net cash in the period                               8,165             8,138               9,320
Decrease in debt                                                   915                 -                 210

Movements in net funds in the period                             9,080             8,138               9,530
Net funds / (debt) at 1 January                                 15,013             5,483               5,483

Net funds at 30 June / 31 December                              24,093            13,621              15,013



ANALYSIS OF NET FUNDS

                                                1 January 2002           Cashflow         30 June 2002
                                                     (audited)        (unaudited)          (unaudited)
                                                         £'000              £'000                £'000

Cash at bank                                            16,792              8,165               24,957
Debt due within one year                               (1,779)                915                (864)

Total                                                   15,013              9,080               24,093



Debt due within one year comprises the loan notes in connection with the
acquisition of A&C Black.



NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS:

1. The earnings per ordinary share for the six months to 30 June
2002 is based on the profit after taxation of £1,875,000 (2001 - £1,679,000) and
on a weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue of 16,972,017 (2001 -
16,901,244). The earnings per ordinary share for the twelve months to 31
December 2001 is based on the profit after taxation of £5,901,000 and a weighted
average number of ordinary shares in issue of 16,926,075. The fully diluted
earnings per share has been calculated by reference to a weighted average number
of Ordinary Shares in issue of 18,155,284 (6 months ended 30 June 2001 -
18,143,263, year ended 31 December 2001 - 18,158,383) which takes account of
share options.

2. The figures for the six months ended 30 June 2002
do not comprise full accounts. The financial information included in this
document has been approved by the Directors and prepared on a consistent basis
with the accounts for the year ended 31 December 2001. Accounts for the year
ended 31 December 2001, which received an unqualified audit report, have been
lodged with the Registrar of Companies. This announcement is being sent to
shareholders and will be made available at our registered office.




INDEPENDENT REVIEW REPORT TO BLOOMSBURY PUBLISHING Plc

Introduction

We have been instructed by the company to review the financial information set
out on pages 8 to 12 and we have read the other information contained in the
interim report and considered whether it contains any apparent misstatements or
material inconsistencies with the financial information.

Directors' responsibilities

The interim report, including the financial information contained therein, is
the responsibility of, and has been approved by the directors. The accounting
policies and presentation applied to the interim figures are consistent with
those applied in preparing annual accounts except where any changes, and the
reasons for them, are disclosed.

Review work performed

We conducted our review in accordance with the guidance contained in Bulletin
1999/4 issued by the Auditing Practices Board. A review consists principally of
making enquiries of group management and applying analytical procedures to the
financial information and underlying financial data and, based thereon,
assessing whether the accounting policies and presentation have been
consistently applied unless otherwise disclosed. A review excludes audit
procedures such as tests of controls and verification of assets, liabilities and
transactions. It is substantially less in scope than an audit performed in
accordance with Auditing Standards and therefore provides a lower level of
assurance than an audit. Accordingly we do not express an audit opinion on the
financial information.

Review conclusion

On the basis of our review we are not aware of any material modifications that
should be made to the financial information as presented for the six months
ended 30 June 2002.



Baker Tilly

Chartered Accountants
London
17 September 2002




                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange