Interim Results
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
18 September 2007
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Interim Results for the six months to 30 June 2007
* Six months Revenue up 36.5% to £51.41m (2006, £37.66m)
* Profit before investment income increased 7.6% to £3.25m (2006,£3.02m)
* Interim dividend up 6.1% to 0.70p (2006, 0.66p)
* Four electronic rights deals signed this year which included
Bloomsbury's most important reference rights partnership to date for
Finance:The Ultimate Resource with Qatar Financial Centre Authority
* Strong publishing lists for second half and into 2008
* Well positioned for further growth
Commenting on the results and prospects for Bloomsbury, Nigel Newton, Chairman,
said:
'This is a good set of results which puts us back on track following last year's
profit warning. Between April and June, Bloomsbury enjoyed one of the most
sustained periods of publishing bestsellers in its history. Four major reference
rights deals which had been in the pipeline have now been completed and will
provide very important revenue streams going forward.
We are also starting to see the benefits of the strategic approach which we
outlined in my previous Chairman's statement and our publishing programme for
the second half of the year is very strong.'
For further information, please contact:
+----------------------------------------------------+-----------------+
|Ben Woodford/Dan de Belder, Bell Pottinger |020 7861 3232 |
+----------------------------------------------------+-----------------+
|Sandy Karon, PA to the Chairman, Bloomsbury |020 7494 6015 |
|Publishing Plc | |
+----------------------------------------------------+-----------------+
Chairman's statement
Overview
In my last Chairman's statement I set out six key elements of our strategy which
will drive our future growth by building on existing strengths and developing
new opportunities. These are to:
•Generate content, particularly in new digital areas and from television
and film;
•Build new author relationships and content;
•Exploit our geographic reach;
•Develop greater revenues from our current stable of authors;
•Pioneer web-based initiatives; and
•Undertake acquisitions.
As many of the examples in this report will show, we are already starting to see
real benefits from this strategic approach. Bloomsbury has rebounded strongly
from our profit warning in December of last year with many long-term plans and
publications have come to fruition since then. In addition, four major reference
rights deals, which had been in the pipeline, have all now been completed. These
represent very important deals for the Company's future.
The Company's excellent 21 year hit rate for publishing bestsellers resumed in
January with the publication of the paperback edition of Restless by William
Boyd which won the Costa Prize in January and was featured on the Richard and
Judy Book Club on Valentine's Day driving considerable extra sales. At the same
time, Ben MacIntyre's Agent Zigzag also achieved considerable success.
Bloomsbury enjoyed one of the most sustained periods of publishing bestsellers
in its history in a remarkable six-week period from 15 May to 30 June. This
included David Kynaston's remarkable 600 page scholarly history Austerity
Britain: 1945-1951 which is one of the best reviewed books ever published by the
Company; David Dimbleby's British social and architectural history, How We Built
Britain, which tied in with his BBC 1 television series; A Thousand Splendid
Suns, Khaled Hosseini's next book following The Kite Runner, which had huge
retailer support and went straight to number one in the bestseller list; and
Imperial Life in the Emerald City, Rajiv Chandrasekaran's remarkable book about
life in the Green Zone in Iraq, which won the Samuel Johnson prize for
Non-Fiction and enjoyed significantly increased sales.
The period under review also had the benefit of the export orders of Harry
Potter and the Deathly Hallows which were considerably up on the previous book
in the series published in 2005. The exceptional UK pre-orders and re-orders
fall into the second half of the year and therefore do not comprise part of this
interim financial reporting period.
Revenue for the first six months increased 36.5% to £51.41m (2006, £37.66m) on
the back of a number of bestselling titles and the release of Harry Potter and
the Deathly Hallows into the export markets. Gross profit increased 16.5% to
£21.80m (2006, £18.71m), with the gross margin down at 42.4% (2006, 49.7%) due
to a combination of royalty costs on Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the
high level of returns experienced in the UK, US and Germany for other titles and
increased provisions for stock and advances on books published in previous
financial years. We have increased the provisions at the half year to account
for the likely irrecoverability of some of these investments. We do not expect
the US to make a profit for the full year 2007, although we expect the position
to improve in 2008 when the revenues from the books published under our new
imprint, Bloomsbury Press, come fully on stream. The paperbacks of books
published in the UK in hardback in 2006 will be published this year and we will
be reviewing the level of provisioning, as we always do, in the light of their
performance at the end of this year.
Investment in selective marketing initiatives is increasingly important not only
in helping to build the Bloomsbury brand but also in responding to changes in
the industry. As books become more promotion-led we are increasing the number of
titles supported by major marketing campaigns. This will enable greater focus on
our bigger books which is where any significant marketing spend will be focused
going forward.
Marketing and distribution costs were 27.5% higher at £8.68m (2006, £6.81m), but
as a percentage of turnover they decreased to 16.9% (2006, 18.1%). The increase
in marketing and distribution spend was primarily as a result of the release of
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows into the export markets. The release
carries a relatively lower distribution cost due to the favourable bulk rates
attached to it. However we decided to support the export release, with strong
marketing spend and this seems to have paid off. Administrative expenses
increased 11.1% to £9.87m (2006, £8.88m), which is mainly due to an increased
share-based payment charge costs associated with the publication of Harry Potter
and the Deathly Hallows, the full period cost of the additional commissioning
editors hired in 2006 and additional back office support in the US, and general
inflationary increases on employment costs. As a percentage of turnover,
administrative expenses decreased to 19.2% (2006, 23.6%).
Profit before investment income increased 7.6% to £3.25m (2006, £3.02m).
Interest income decreased by 49.6% to £0.62m (2006, £1.23m) primarily as a
result of lower average cash balances held during the six month period.
Profit before tax decreased 8.5% to £3.86m (2006, £4.22m) as a result of lower
interest receivable in the period. The effective rate of corporation tax for the
six months was 33% (2006, 29.4%).
The Group's effective tax for the year ending 31 December 2007 is expected to
rise to 33%, up from 29.4% for the year ended 31 December 2006. The reason for
the expected increase is primarily the performance of the Group's US operations,
which are expected to generate a loss that cannot be relieved against the
Group's UK taxable profits. At present, the Group cannot be sufficiently certain
that this loss will be relieved against future taxable profits in the US to
recognise it as a deferred tax asset, resulting in an estimated 3% increase in
the Group's effective tax rate.
The Group tax charge has also been adversely impacted by the current low share
price, which has restricted the Group's ability to recognise a deferred tax
asset in respect of the expected future tax relief on the exercise of the share
options it has granted. This has resulted in an estimated further 3% increase in
the Group's effective tax rate.
Another factor which has contributed to the increase is the 10% reduction in the
future tax rate announced by Germany. The immediate impact of this is that the
Group has to write off a proportion of the deferred tax asset recognised in
respect of past tax losses in Germany, as these will in future now be relieved
at a lower rate. However, this German rate reduction, together with the 2%
reduction in the UK corporation tax rate announced earlier this year, should
correspondingly reduce the Group's overall effective tax rate from 2008 onwards.
Basic earnings per share decreased 13.7% to 3.52 pence (2006, 4.08 pence).
Net cash outflow for the Group for the first six months of the year was £10.97m
(30 June 2006, outflow £22.36m). The cash outflow related primarily to funding
the high level of returns across the Group, royalties paid to authors in March
and continued investment in author advances The increase in working capital was
due to continued investment in the Group's forward publishing programme and in
the lead to the publication of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallow's. In the
first six months of 2007, the Group also paid the 2006 final dividend of £2.20m
(2006, £2.19m). Net cash balances at 30 June decreased 45.2% to £13.32m (31
December 2006, £24.30m).
INTERIM DIVIDEND
The Directors have declared a 6.1% increase in the interim dividend to 0.70
pence per share (2006, 0.66 pence per share), which will be paid on 16 November
2007 to shareholders on the register at close of business on 2 November 2007.
The dividend takes account of the profit growth whilst at the same time
recognising the need to retain funds to respond to opportunities for future
expansion and acquisition growth.
OPERATIONAL REVIEW
Children's
The high point for the Children's division this year was the release of the
final volume of Harry Potter with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Orders
have been strong with first day sales in the UK according to Nielsen BookScan,
the independent book trade monitoring service, up 32% on the previous book to
2,652,656 copies. These orders are not recorded in the first half of the year.
Overseas first-day sales were equally impressive with 398,271 copies sold in
Germany, 573,845 in Australia which is 64% up on last time, and 930,711 in
Canada through our joint venture with Raincoast based in Vancouver.
The rest of the list has performed well in what is essentially a very flat
market for children's publishing.
A new government initiative was launched this year. The Education Secretary
published a list of the top 160 books for teenage boys and Bloomsbury had 14
titles on the list, including 101 Things To Do Before You're Old and Boring by
Richard Horne, Coraline by Neil Gaiman, and Larklight by Philip Reeve. The list
is intended to encourage secondary school boys to continue to read for pleasure.
Tanglewreck will be televised by the BBC for a two-part drama at Christmas, and
the film to Magyk by Angie Sage will go into production this year.
Adult
Richard and Judy Book Club choices continue to dominate the market. We began the
year publishing the paperback of William Boyd's Restless which in January won
the Costa Prize and in February was a Richard & Judy choice. This was followed
by A Thousand Splendid Suns, the new novel by Khaled Hosseini, the author of The
Kite Runner. The book went straight to No 1 in the Hardback Fiction bestseller
list and has remained on that list since publication. The Kite Runner was voted
the Penguin Orange Broadband Reader's Group Favourite Book, and the film of The
Kite Runner will be released early next year which should provide huge support
for the continued sales of the book.
In the Autumn we look forward to Divisadero, the new novel by Booker prize
winner Michael Ondaatje, author of The English Patient, a first novel from
Sophie Dahl, and new books from Douglas Coupland and Nobel prize winner Nadine
Gordimer.
Reference
A&C Black performed well in the first half of 2007. We celebrated our 200th
anniversary by republishing two small books from our archive, Don'ts for
Husbands and Don'ts for Wives. Other publishing successes include the launch of
a new series, Business on a Shoestring, which gives advice to small businesses
and, from our nautical imprint, Left for Dead by Nick Ward, the gripping story
of his survival against all odds after he was abandoned for dead by his
crewmates in the infamous Fastnet race of 1979.
Our new list, Methuen Drama, acquired in 2006 has seen a significant uplift in
turnover and profits in its first full year. This has been as a result of more
extensive sales and marketing activity to increase the sales of existing books
and of successful new launches, including an innovative new series of
Shakespeare plays in combined print and audio editions.
Electronic Media - Long-term revenue generation
Electronic Media will be a critical ingredient in the future portfolio of the
business with its long-term revenue generating benefits. We are making excellent
progress in this area.
This spring we agreed significant new rights contracts with Oxford University
Press, Microsoft and ProQuest.
The agreement with OUP is for a ten-year collaboration between the two best
known biographical reference works: A&C Black's Who's Who and OUP Oxford
Dictionary of National Biography. Starting in December 2007, the 2008 edition of
Who's Who and Who Was Who, the historical archive of Who's Who, will be
published online on a dedicated website alongside the Oxford Dictionary of
National Biography. The information provided by in the annual editions of Who's
Who about 32,000 current entrants will complement the coverage of the Oxford
Dictionary of National Biography, which does not include living people.
The 100,000 autobiographical entries in Who Was Who are also a perfect companion
to the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography's 55,000 biographies, and many
more in Oxford's other online services. For the first time, readers will be able
to move seamlessly between these national resources with unrivalled search
functionality.
A second long-term agreement with Microsoft is for the licence of electronic
rights to a reference database and extends Bloomsbury's relationship with
Microsoft dating from the publication online and in print of the Encarta World
English Dictionary in 1999.
We have also negotiated renewal of an agreement with ProQuest for Whitaker's
Almanack in KnowUK. This new agreement allows Whitaker's content to be offered
by them until 2011.
In August we announced the signing of Bloomsbury's largest database in
partnership with a major international financial organisation, the Qatar
Financial Centre Authority for the database, Finance - The Ultimate Resource.
The contract value is £7m and the operating profit attributable to this will
arise in the years between 2008 and 2014, thus providing long-term profit
potential for the Company.
This is a very exciting time for Bloomsbury as it demonstrates significant
demand for the type of content which we have unparalleled expertise in creating.
International
Bloomsbury USA and Walker Publishing Company, Inc.
The first half of 2007 has shown growth on gross revenues from 2006 but we
experienced a higher than expected level of book returns from previous years'
publications which has resulted in higher levels of advance and stock
provisioning this year. Net revenues for the six-month period declined 14.9% to
£5.78m (2006, £6.79m). We have carried out a review of our cost base. Staff
reductions are being made through staff turnover although we will review this
process should trading not improve. We are hopeful that we can make up for some
of shortfall that occurred in the first half. There is improvement in the second
half of the year, though the US is expected to make a loss for the year as a
whole. The publishing lists from the two commissioning editors recruited in 2006
will come fully on stream in 2008 and this should strengthen the business.
Market conditions still remain difficult this year with retailers and book
chains becoming more conservative in their buying patterns, seeking lower stock
holdings on titles and being more aggressive on returning books. Nonetheless we
have had a number of strong sellers in the first half, including The Nasty Bits
by Anthony Bourdain, The Princess Academy by Shannon Hale and The Highest Tide
by Jim Lynch.
The second half publishing programme is good and does provide the potential to
exceed current trading prospects. We have No Reservations, the new book from
Anthony Bourdain, Jacques Cousteau's The Human, the Orchid and the Octopus and,
from our Children's list, The Declaration by Gemma Malley, a title shared across
the Group with Bloomsbury UK and Berlin.
Berlin Verlag
Berlin is performing strongly with revenues up 36.3% to £3.42m (2006, £2.51m) in
the first half. These results underline the benefits of better forward planning,
additional focus on lead titles across the lists, our extended release date
schedule, excellent and innovative publicity and marketing initiatives,
continued cost-control disciplines and a strong list of books, many from repeat
authors. This performance is particularly creditable in an increasingly
consolidating retail market. The increasing power of bookshop chains (for
example the Hugendubel Group has increased its outlets from 100 to 450 in the
last year) is making noticeable inroads into the traditionally dominant
independent bookselling sector.
The year started well with William Boyd's Ruhelos (Restless), a title shared
with Bloomsbury UK and USA, being featured positively on Elke Heidenreich's
popular TV programme Lesen!, the German equivalent of Richard and Judy, and
immediately entering the Spiegel bestseller list. Berlin benefited from the
sales commission earned on selling Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows into the
German market in June. The German operation has a good list in the second half
of the year which could pave the way for one of its strongest performances to
date.
Board and employees
On 5 September we announced that Jeremy Wilson has been appointed Non-Executive
Chairman with effect from 27 September. This is a positive move for the Company
which will help it achieve its ambitions for the next stage of its development.
Jeremy Wilson, who was appointed a Non-Executive Director of Bloomsbury in 2005,
has worked at Barclays Bank PLC since 1972, where he has held a number of senior
management positions. He is currently Vice Chairman, Business Banking at
Barclays Bank PLC, a position he will retain. He brings with him valuable
experience in business and finance within a FTSE 100 company and his skills and
background make him well suited to be the Company's Non-Executive Chairman.
The progress we have achieved is a reflection of the skill and enthusiasm of our
team members. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of my
colleagues throughout the Company for their commitment over the period.
Outlook
The publishing programme for the second half of the year is very strong. We are
carrying out a detailed review of the Group's overheads to determine our
requirements to continue the organic growth strategy of the business and also to
improve the profits on the revenues currently being generated. We have a strong
stable of authors across all three of our major territories. There is also
increasing demand for electronic licences to our intellectual property from blue
chip clients and Bloomsbury can look forward to high quality long-term repeat
revenues from these licences for many years to come.
Nigel Newton
Chairman
18 September 2007
CONSOLIDATED INCOME STATEMENT
for the six months ended 30 June 2007
Notes 6 months 6 months Year
ended ended ended
30 June 30 June 31
2007 2006 December
2006
(unaudited) (unaudited) (audited)
£'000 £'000 £'000
Revenue 2 51,410 37,659 74,773
Cost of sales (29,609) (18,949) (38,602)
______ ______ ______
Gross profit 21,801 18,710 36,171
Marketing and distribution costs (8,677) (6,812) (14,354)
Administrative expenses (9,873) (8,883) (18,308)
______ ______ ______
Profit before investment income 2 3,251 3,015 3,509
Investment income 621 1,232 1,734
Finance costs (15) (28) (47)
______ ______ ______
Profit before taxation 3,857 4,219 5,196
Income tax expense (1,274) (1,241) (1,544)
______ ______ ______
Profit for the period 2,583 2,978 3,652
______ ______ ______
Basic earnings per share 3 3.52p 4.08p 4.99p
______ ______ ______
Diluted earnings per share 3 3.42p 4.01p 4.90p
______ ______ ______
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF RECOGNISED INCOME AND EXPENSE
for the six months ended 30 June 2007
6 months 6 months Year
ended ended ended
30 June 30 June 31
2007 2006 December
2006
(unaudited) (unaudited) (audited)
£'000 £'000 £'000
Profit for the period 2,583 2,978 3,652
Exchange rate adjustments (255) (1,076) (1,878)
______ ______ ______
Total recognised income for the period 2,328 1,902 1,774
______ ______ ______
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET
at 30 June 2007
30 June 2007 30 June 2006 31 December 2006
(unaudited) (unaudited) (audited)
£'000 £'000 £'000
ASSETS
Non-current assets
Property, plant and equipment 2,118 2,613 2,332
Intangible assets 17,581 17,528 17,672
Deferred tax assets 1,917 1,746 1,700
______ ______ ______
Total non-current assets 21,616 21,887 21,704
______ ______ ______
Current assets
Inventories 22,749 15,876 15,818
Trade and other receivables 70,646 40,742 49,217
Cash and cash equivalents 13,323 31,117 24,304
______ ______ ______
Total current assets 106,718 87,735 89,339
______ ______ ______
TOTAL ASSETS 128,334 109,622 111,043
______ ______ ______
EQUITY AND LIABILITIES
Equity attributable to equity
holders of the parent
Share capital 920 913 918
Share premium 39,191 38,392 38,915
Capital redemption reserve 20 20 20
Share-based payment reserve 1,648 743 1,104
Translation reserve (1,491) (434) (1,236
Retained earnings 49,897 49,423 49,612
______ ______ ______
Total equity
90,185 89,057 89,333
______ ______ ______
Liabilities
Non-current liabilities
Deferred tax 176 - 36
Retirement benefit obligations 63 141 144
Other payables 477 225 223
______ ______ ______
Total non-current liabilities 716 366 403
______ ______ ______
Current liabilities
Trade and other payables 37,308 18,350 20,786
Current tax payable 125 1,849 521
______ ______ ______
Total current liabilities 37,433 20,199 21,307
______ ______ ______
Total liabilities 38,149 20,565 21,710
______ ______ ______
TOTAL EQUITY AND LIABILITIES 128,334 109,622 111,043
______ ______ ______
STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN EQUITY
Share Share Capital Share Translation Retained Total
capital premium redemption based reserve earnings
reserve payment
£'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000
Balances at 1 January
2006 911 38,123 20 453 642 48,634 88,783
Exchange differences on
translating foreign
operations - - - - (1,076) - (1,076)
Profit for the period - - - - 2,978 2,978
Share-based payments - - - 290 - - 290
Dividends - - - - - (2,189) (2,189)
Share issues 2 269 - - - - 271
______ ______ ______ ______ ______ ______ ______
Balances at 30 June 2006 913 38,392 20 743 (434) 49,423 89,057
Exchange differences on
translating foreign
operations - - - - (802) - (802)
Profit for the period - - - - 674 674
Share-based payments - - - 361 - - 361
Dividends - - - - - (485) (485)
Share issues 5 523 - - - - 528
______ ______ ______ ______ ______ ______ ______
Balances at 31 December 918 38,915 20 1,104 (1,236) 49,612 89,333
2006
Exchange differences on
translating foreign
operations - - - - (255) - (255)
Profit for the period - - - - 2,583 2,583
Share-based payments - - - 544 - - 544
Deferred tax on
share-based payments - - - - - (95) (95)
Dividends - - - - - (2,203) (2,203)
Share issues 2 276 - - - - 278
______ ______ ______ ______ ______ ______ ______
Balances at 30 June 2007 920 39,191 20 1,648 (1,491) 49,897 90,185
______ ______ ______ ______ ______ ______ ______
CONSOLIDATED CASH FLOW STATEMENT
for the six months ended 30 June 2007
6 months 6 months Year
ended ended ended
30 June 30 June 31 December
2007 2006 2006
(unaudited) (unaudited) (audited)
£'000 £'000 £'000
Cash flows from operating activities
Net profit before tax 3,857 4,219 5,196
Adjustments for:
Depreciation of property, plant and equipment 334 228 661
Amortisation of publishing relationships 18 18 36
Profit on sale of property, plant and equipment (2) (1) (1)
Share-based payment charges 544 290 651
Investment income (621) (1,232) (1,734)
Finance costs 15 28 47
______ ______ ______
4,145 3,550 4,856
Increase in inventories (7,006) (779) (971)
(Increase) / decrease in trade and other receivables (23,234) 6,782 (1,126)
Increase / (decrease) in trade and other payables 16,722 (25,343) (22,682)
______ ______ ______
Cash used in operations (9,373) (15,790) (19,923)
Income taxes paid (155) (2,278) (5,195)
______ ______ ______
Net outflow from operating activities (9,528) (18,068) (25,118)
______ ______ ______
Cash flows from investing activities
Purchase of property, plant and equipment (118) (1,226) (1,379)
Purchase of businesses - (2,350) (2,419)
Interest received 621 1,232 1,734
______ ______ ______
Net cash generated from / (used in) investing 503 (2,344) (2,064)
activities ______ ______ ______
Cash flows from financing activities
Share options exercised 278 271 799
Equity dividends paid (2,203) (2,189) (2,674)
Interest paid (15) (28) (47)
______ ______ ______
Net cash used in financing activities (1,940) (1,946) (1,922)
______ ______ ______
Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents (10,965) (22,358) (29,104)
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period 24,304 53,511 53,511
Unrealised exchange loss on cash and cash equivalents (16) (36) (103)
______ ______ ______
Cash and cash equivalents at end of period 13,323 31,117 24,304
______ ______ ______
ACCOUNTING POLICIES
The accounting policies used in the preparation of the accounts for the six
months ended 30 June 2007 are consistent with those that the Directors intend to
use in the statutory accounts for the year ended 31 December 2007.
NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS
1. Interim accounts
The figures for the six months ended 30 June 2007 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 2006. The comparative figures for the year ended 31 December
2006 were derived from the statutory accounts for the year ended 31 December
2006, which received an unqualified audit report and have been lodged with the
Registrar of Companies.
2. Segmental analysis
The Group considers that as the main thrust of its growth is to develop its
international publishing strategy, the primary segmental reporting should be
based on geographical segments. The analysis by geographical segment is shown
below.
External revenue 6 months 6 months Year
(by source) ended ended ended
30 June 30 June 31 December
2007 2006 2006
(unaudited) (unaudited) (audited)
£'000 £'000 £'000
United Kingdom 42,212 28,355 53,880
North America 5,777 6,793 15,011
Continental Europe 3,421 2,511 5,882
_______ _______ _______
51,410 37,659 74,773
_______ _______ _______
Segment result 6 months 6 months Year
ended ended ended
(by source) 30 June 30 June 31 December
2007 2006 2006
(unaudited) (unaudited) (audited)
£'000 £'000 £'000
United Kingdom 3,617 3,503 3,724
North America (892) (430) (260)
Continental Europe 605 18 199
_______ _______ _______
3,330 3,091 3,663
Unallocated central costs (79) (76) (154)
_______ _______ _______
Profit before investment income 3,251 3,015 3,509
_______ _______ _______
3. Earnings per share
The earnings per share for the six months to 30 June 2007 is based on the
earnings of £2,583,000 (2006, £2,978,000) and on a weighted average number of
Ordinary Shares in issue of 73,473,564 (2006, 72,918,862). The earnings per
share for the twelve months to 31 December 2006 is based on the earnings of
£3,652,000 and a weighted average number of Ordinary Shares in issue of
73,115,031. The diluted earnings per share for the six months to 30 June 2007
has been calculated by reference to a weighted average number of Ordinary Shares
of 75,552,061 (2006, 74,280,812, year ended 31 December 2006, 74,469,114) which
takes account of share options.
4. Post balance sheet events
The Directors have proposed an interim dividend of 0.70 pence per share (2006,
0.66 pence per share), which will be paid on 16 November 2007 to shareholders on
the register at close of business on 2 November 2007. Based on the number of
shares in issue at 30 June 2007, the interim dividend will be £515,000 (2006,
£485,000).
INDEPENDENT REVIEW REPORT TO BLOOMSBURY PUBLISHING PLC
Introduction
We have been instructed by the Company to review the financial information for
the six months ended 30 June 2007 which comprises the income statement,
statement of recognised income and expense, balance sheet, statement of changes
in equity, cash flow statement, accounting policies and related notes set out on
pages 8 to 16. 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.
This report, including the conclusion, has been prepared for and only for the
Company for the purpose of meeting the requirements of the Listing Rules of the
Financial Services Authority and for no other purpose. We do not, therefore in
producing this report, accept or assume responsibility for any other purpose or
to any other person to whom this report is shown or into whose hands it may come
save where expressly agreed by our prior consent in writing.
Directors' responsibilities
The interim report, including the financial information contained therein, is
the responsibility of, and has been approved by the directors. The directors are
responsible for preparing the interim report in accordance with the Listing
Rules of the Financial Services Authority.
The accounting policies are consistent with those that the directors intend to
use in the next annual financial statements.
Review work performed
We conducted our review in accordance with guidance contained in Bulletin 1999/4
issued by the Auditing Practices Board for use in the United Kingdom. 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 disclosed accounting policies 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 and therefore
provides a lower level of assurance. 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 2007.
Baker Tilly UK Audit LLP
Registered Auditor and Chartered Accountants
2 Bloomsbury Street
London
WC1B 3ST
18 September 2007
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