BLOOMSBURY PUBLISHING PLC

("Bloomsbury" or "the Company")

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Unaudited Preliminary Results for the year ended 29 February 2020

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Strong Non-Consumer profit growth and delivery of diversified strategy

Strengthened balance sheet and improved liquidity

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Bloomsbury, the leading independent publisher, today announces unaudited results for the year ended 29 February 2020, in line with expectations.

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Commenting on the results, Nigel Newton, Chief Executive, said:

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"I am pleased to report a year of further progress at Bloomsbury resulting in 9% growth in profit before tax and highlighted items. Our Non-Consumer division delivered an excellent result with profit before tax and highlighted items up by 85% to �6.7 million, including outstanding revenue growth of 32% from Bloomsbury Digital Resources, which moved into profit this year, and the Adult Consumer division achieved 77% growth in profit before tax and highlighted items. These performances demonstrate the underlying strength and resilience of our diversified, international strategy.

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Over the past five years, the successful execution of this strategy has delivered Company revenue growth of 32% and profit before tax and highlighted items growth of 21%, with digital revenue as a proportion of total revenue increasing from 10% to 15%.

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Since the year end, the coronavirus pandemic has led to significant disruption across all our key markets. The impact may be substantial. Orders for print books, which comprised 79% of the Company's revenue for the year ended 29 February 2020, are being affected in all our markets. Our UK, US and Australia warehouses remain open and continue supply to customers. Our strategy of expanding and leveraging our digital rights and products means that we are well placed to benefit from increased demand for our digital resources, audio and e-books. �

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There is no immediate certainty around the severity and duration of the impact on our business and therefore the Board is unable to provide guidance for the year ending 28 February 2021 at this time.

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In response to the pandemic, the Board has taken swift measures to strengthen Bloomsbury's balance sheet and increase liquidity to ensure we have sufficient working capital to weather the impact of coronavirus and avoid damaging our business in the long-term.

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I would like to thank our staff, authors, illustrators and suppliers for their resilience and determination over a challenging period. Their ability to adapt to the rapidly changing conditions, together with the strength of our strategy supported by our solid financial position, gives me confidence that Bloomsbury will emerge stronger from this crisis."

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Financial Highlights

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���� Profit before taxation and highlighted items* grew by 9% to �15.7 million, up from �14.4 million in 2018/19

���� Revenues increased to �162.8 million (2018/19: �162.7 million) despite the impact of coronavirus on our Chinese sales in January and February

���� Profit before taxation grew by 10% to �13.2 million (2018/19: �12.0 million)

���� Diluted earnings per share, excluding highlighted items*, grew by 12% to 16.77p (2018/19: 14.97p)

���� Diluted earnings per share grew by 13% to 13.84p (2018/19: 12.25p)

���� Net cash of �31.3 million at 29 February 2020, up 14% (2018: �27.6 million)

���� Cash conversion of 96% (2018/19: 128%), excluding the acquisition of the rights of Oberon Books Ltd ("Oberon")

���� Subject to shareholder approval, proposed bonus issue, in lieu of, and with a value equivalent to, proposed final dividend of 6.89p per share

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Operational Highlights�

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Non-Consumer Division�

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���� Excellent Academic & Professional performance, with profit before taxation and highlighted items* up by 58% to �4.8 million (2018/19: �3.0 million) and revenue up 4%

���� Non-Consumer profit before taxation and highlighted items* up by 85% to �6.7 million and revenues grew by 4% to �66.0 million (2018/19: �63.4 million)

���� Non-Consumer profit before taxation grew by 159% to �5.0 million (2018/19: �1.9 million)

���� Bloomsbury Digital Resources ("BDR") revenues up 32% to �8.3 million and moves into profit

���� Digital format sales now comprise 22% of Non-Consumer revenues, a CAGR of 18% over four years

���� Acquisition of Oberon's rights in December 2019 completed for �1.2 million, strengthening our digital resources with its high quality drama IP

���� BDR partnerships with Human Kinetics launched and Taylor & Francis in development as well as the new National Theatre collection included in Drama Online

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Consumer Division

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���� Profit before taxation and highlighted items* of �8.9 million (2018/19: �10.7 million)

���� Consumer revenue of �96.8 million (2018/19: �99.3 million)

���� Strong Adult Trade performance, with revenue up 12% to �37.4 million (2018/19: �33.5 million) and profit before taxation and highlighted items* of �1.6 million (2018/19: �0.9 million)

���� Children's Trade delivered profit before taxation and highlighted items* of �7.3 million (2018/19: �9.8 million) and revenue of �59.4 million (2018/19: �65.8 million)

���� Resilient sales of Harry Potter titles, in line with last year

���� Children's revenue affected by the timing of and fewer frontlist titles from Sarah J Maas

���� Excellent audio performance from our new Audio division, with an expert team delivering 190% revenue growth by focusing on production of key titles and delivering bestsellers

���� Appointment of Paul Baggaley as Editor-In-Chief of Bloomsbury Adult, one of the most highly regarded figures in the industry who joined us from Macmillan in March 2020

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Notes

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* Highlighted items comprise amortisation of acquired intangible assets and legal, other professional costs and restructuring costs relating to ongoing and completed acquisitions and one-off costs relating to the coronavirus.

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For further information, please contact:

� Bloomsbury Publishing Plc	�
Nigel Newton, Chief Executive Penny Scott-Bayfield, Group Finance Director	[email protected] � [email protected]
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Hudson Sandler	+44 (0) 20 7796 4133
Dan de Belder / Hattie Dreyfus	[email protected]

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The information in this announcement has not been audited or otherwise independently verified and no representation or warranty, express or implied, is made as to, and no reliance should be placed on, the fairness, accuracy, completeness or correctness of the information or opinions contained herein. None of the Company or any of its affiliates, advisors or representatives shall have any liability whatsoever (in negligence or otherwise) for any loss whatsoever arising from any use of this announcement, or its contents, or otherwise arising in connection with this announcement.

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This announcement does not constitute or form part of any offer or invitation to sell, or any solicitation of any offer to purchase any shares in the Company, nor shall it or any part of it or the fact of its distribution form the basis of, or be relied on in connection with, any contract or commitment or investment decisions relating thereto, nor does it constitute a recommendation regarding the shares of the Company.

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Certain statements, statistics and projections in this announcement are or may be forward looking. By their nature, forward?looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties or assumptions that may or may not occur and actual results or events may differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Accordingly, no assurance can be given that any particular expectation will be met and reliance should not be placed on any forward-looking statement. Accordingly, forward-looking statements contained in this announcement regarding past trends or activities should not be taken as representation that such trends or activities will continue in the future. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which are based on the knowledge and information available only at the date of this announcement's preparation.

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The Company does not undertake any obligation to update or keep current the information contained in this announcement, including any forward?looking statements, or to correct any inaccuracies which may become apparent and any opinions expressed in it are subject to change without notice.

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References in this announcement to other reports or materials, such as a website address, have been provided to direct the reader to other sources of information on Bloomsbury Publishing Plc which may be of interest. Neither the content of Bloomsbury's website nor any website accessible by hyperlinks from Bloomsbury's website nor any additional materials contained or accessible thereon, are incorporated in, or form part of, this announcement.

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Chief Executive's statement

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Overview

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The year ended 29 February 2020 saw a robust performance by Bloomsbury, particularly given the impact of coronavirus in China in the last two months of the financial year. Group profit before tax and highlighted items increased by 9% to �15.7 million (2018/19: �14.4 million). Group profit before tax increased by 10% to �13.2 million (2018/19: �12.0 million).

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Our BDR digital growth strategy continues to perform very well, delivering 32% revenue growth year -on-year and generating profit. This strong growth demonstrated the demand for and quality of our digital content, platforms and infrastructure. There was healthy revenue growth both from increased sales of existing products, as well as new partnerships and new products.

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In December 2019 we acquired the drama publisher Oberon for �1.2 million, further strengthening our presence as the leading publisher in drama and the performing arts. Also in December 2019, we entered the domestic Chinese market with Bloomsbury China, a new joint venture with China Youth Publishing Group and Roaring Lion Media. Continuing our international growth is a key part of our strategy, and this partnership enables the business to further accelerate that goal.

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Performance was in line with the Board's expectations and so there was no management bonus for the year (2018/19: �2.3 million). The highlighted items of �2.5 million consist of the amortisation of acquired intangible assets of �1.7 million (2018/19: �1.7 million), one-off restructuring costs and legal and other professional fees relating to the acquisitions of �0.6 million (2018/19: �0.6 million) and one-off costs relating to the coronavirus of �0.2 million. The effective rate of tax for the year was 21% (2018/19: 23%). The adjusted effective rate of tax, excluding highlighted items, was 19% (2018/19: 21%). Diluted earnings per share, excluding highlighted items, grew 12% to 16.77 pence (2018/19: 14.97 pence).� Including highlighted items, profit before tax was �13.2 million (2018/19: �12.0 million) and diluted earnings per share grew 13% to 13.84 pence (2018/19: 12.25 pence).

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Cash and financing

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Bloomsbury's cash generation continued to be robust with cash at the year end of �31.3 million, up �3.8 million. During the year we invested �1.8 million of capital expenditure in BDR and the �1.2 million cash consideration for the acquisition of Oberon was paid on completion in December 2019.

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The Group has an unsecured revolving credit facility with Lloyds Bank Plc. The facility comprises a committed revolving loan facility of �8 million in the first half and an additional �4 million in the second half, totalling �12 million, to match Bloomsbury's cashflow cycle, and an uncommitted incremental term loan facility of up to �6 million. The facilities are subject to two covenants, being a maximum net debt to EBITDA ratio of 2.5x and a minimum interest cover covenant of 4x. Subsequent to the year end, the maturity of the facility was extended to May 2022 and the covenants were amended to exclude IFRS 16.� �

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Strategy

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Delivering the Bigger Bloomsbury Initiatives

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We delivered good results on the eight initiatives announced in May 2019, with highlights including:�

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���� Growing the profits of the Academic & Professional division: Delivered �1.8 million (58%) growth in profit before taxation and highlighted items.

���� Maximising the success of Bloomsbury Digital Resources: Moved into profit for the first time and delivered 32% growth in BDR revenue.

���� Growing the profits of the Adult division: Delivered �1.6 million profit before taxation and highlighted items, up �0.7 million.

���� Reducing our finished goods stock further: Further 1% reduction in inventories on a like-for-like basis.

���� Growing the revenues of acquisitions: 49% growth in IB Tauris revenues, acquired in May 2018, contributing to the Non-Consumer growth.

���� Increasing the focus on Bloomsbury's nine biggest assets, starting with Harry Potter, Sarah J. Mass and Tom Kerridge: Delivered 23 bestsellers globally.

���� Accelerating the growth of Bloomsbury's sales in the USA, Australia and India: International sales 63% of revenue.

���� Increasing employee engagement through strategic initiatives: Good progress in engagement and delivery of key initiatives.

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Following the success of the Bigger Bloomsbury initiatives, we are now renewing our focus on Bloomsbury's long-term growth strategy which is aimed at diversifying into digital channels and building quality revenues, increasing earnings and building on the strategic success of the last five years. To achieve this, we are focused on a number of long-term strategic objectives, which include:

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���� Non-Consumer

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o� Grow Bloomsbury's portfolio in Non-Consumer publishing.� These are characterised by higher, more predictable margins and greater digital and global opportunities: 2019/20: delivered 85% growth in profit before tax and highlighted items and revenue growth of 4%.

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o� Achieve BDR revenue of �15 million and profit of �5 million for 2021/22:�2019/20: �delivered �8.3 million revenue, up 32%.

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���� Consumer

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o� Discover, nurture, champion and retain high quality authors and illustrators in our Consumer division, while looking at new ways to leverage existing title rights. 2019/2020: Sunday Times bestsellers included Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid, The Anarchy by William Dalrymple, City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert, Three Women by Lisa Taddeo and The Dutch House by Ann Patchett.

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o� Grow our key authors through effective publishing across all formats alongside strategic sales and marketing. 2019/2020: Crescent City: House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas was Number One on the New York Times bestseller list, and we established our Specialist Audio division.

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o� As the originating publisher of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter, to ensure that new children discover and read it for pleasure every year. 2019/20: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone� was the 10^th bestselling Children's title on Nielsen BookScan in the UK, 22 years after first publication

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���� International Expansion

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o� Expand international revenues and reduce reliance on UK market: 2019/20: �delivered overseas revenues of 63% of Group revenue; achieved BDR international sales growth of 31% this year.

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������ Employee Experience and Engagement

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Our colleagues are amongst our most important assets, and our success is driven by their expertise, passion and commitment. We understand the importance of attracting, supporting and engaging colleagues wherever they work.

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o� To be an attractive employer for all individuals seeking a career in publishing regardless of background or identity, so adding cultural value to our business operations and performance.

o� Focus on targeted initiatives to create an environment that nurtures talent, stimulates creativity and collaboration, is respectful of difference and supports well-being.

o� 2019/2020 Progress: continuing focus on employee engagement and development initiatives, including Employee Voice Meetings, Management Development Programme, mentoring scheme, formation of Diversity and Inclusion ("D&I") Networks which complement and inform the activities of our D&I Focus Group, and introduction of Core Hours to support flexible working.

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���� Sustainability

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o� Maximise our use of sustainable resources whilst seeking to reduce carbon emissions. 2019/2020 Progress: Increased use of print-on demand technology to over 20,000 titles, implementation of Sustainability Working Group to promote positive environmental actions and reduced greenhouse gas emissions from fuel and electricity use.

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Underpinning our strategy, our strengthened balance sheet will help to ensure we have sufficient working capital to weather the impact of coronavirus and to ensure we are able to fulfil our long-term growth plans. We have already implemented cost savings while balancing the need to retain our staff and acquire future titles, as Bloomsbury's proven business model is to commission titles one to two years ahead of publication.

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Acquisitions

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As previously announced, in December 2019, we acquired the rights of drama publisher Oberon Books Limited for �1.2 million, all of which was satisfied in cash on completion. This acquisition further strengthens our presence as the leading publisher in drama and the performing arts.

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Also in December 2019, we entered the domestic Chinese market with Bloomsbury China, a new joint venture with China Youth Publishing Group and Roaring Lion Media. The investment is de minimis.

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Post year end in March 2020, as previously announced, we acquired certain assets of Zed Books Limited, the London-based academic and non-fiction publisher. The consideration was �1.75 million, of which �0.875 million was satisfied in cash on completion and the remainder to be paid within 12 months. Zed will operate within Bloomsbury's Academic & Professional division.

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Dividend

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Bloomsbury had intended to declare a final dividend for year of 6.89 pence per share. This would have resulted in a total dividend for the year of 8.17 pence per share, up 3% on the previous year. As previously announced, Bloomsbury has decided in light of coronavirus to conserve cash and therefore will not be paying a cash dividend. It is now proposed, subject to shareholder proposal, that the dividend is instead settled through the issuance of new ordinary shares by way of bonus issue to shareholders, with a value equivalent to the proposed final dividend.

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Subject to Shareholder approval at our AGM on 21 July 2020, the bonus issue will be made on 28 August 2020 to Shareholders on the register on the record date of 31 July 2020.

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Bloomsbury is proud of its strong track record of 24 years of consecutive dividend growth. Our intention would be to reintroduce cash dividend payments as soon as market conditions allow us to do so.

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Non-Consumer Division

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The Non-Consumer division consists of Academic & Professional and Special Interest. Revenues in the division increased by 4% to �66.0 million (2018/19: �63.4 million). Within this, Academic & Professional revenues grew by 4% to �43.1 million (2018/19: �41.5 million). Profit before taxation and highlighted items for the Non-Consumer division increased by 85% to �6.7 million (2018/19: �3.6 million). Profit before taxation grew by 159% to �5.0 million (2018/19: �1.9 million). The profit growth reflects improved Academic & Professional and Special Interest profitability and the �0.7 million increase in BDR profit.

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In the second half, the Special Interest division took over publishing part of our Content Services division, to generate further synergies following the successful restructure of the Special Interest division. Digital projects, including IZA World of Labor, moved to the Academic & Professional division. Comparatives have been restated to reflect this.

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The strategic growth initiative BDR has made Bloomsbury into a leading B2B publisher in the academic and professional information market and significantly accelerated the growth of its digital revenues. Key achievements during the year, which demonstrate the opportunities to further leverage content and market other services on our digital platforms and through the sales infrastructure we have developed, were:

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o� Launch of five new digital resources during the year as planned;

o� Growth of Bloomsbury Collections to over 9,000 front and backlist Bloomsbury Academic titles; over 20% higher than last year. These include titles from IB Tauris, the British Film Institute and our newly expanded frontlist collections;

o� Launch of the new content partnership with Human Kinetics, the world's leading sports science publisher;

o� Development of our content partnership with Taylor & Francis;

o� Launch of our content partnership with the National Theatre in September 2019, further endorsing and significantly expanding the video offering of our award-winning Drama Online platform; and

o� Continuing our customer retention rate above 90%.

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Within Special Interest, profit before taxation and highlighted items has increased by 227% to �1.9 million (2018/19: �0.6 million) and revenue was 4% higher at �22.9 million (2018/19: �21.9 million). These results demonstrate the impact of the restructuring under the new Head of Special Interest Publishing, with a clear focus on publishing for key communities and reduced overheads.

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Consumer Division

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The Consumer division consists of Adult and Children's trade publishing. The Consumer division generated revenue of �96.8 million (2018/19: �99.3 million). Profit before taxation and highlighted items was �8.9 million (2018/19: �10.7 million). Profit before taxation was �8.8 million (2018/19: �10.7 million). The strong performance from the Adult division and resilient Harry Potter sales were tempered by the impact of timing and fewer frontlist titles from Sarah J Maas.

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Adult Trade

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The Adult division achieved very strong growth with a 12% increase in revenue to �37.4 million (2018/19: �33.5 million) and profit before taxation and highlighted items increasing by 77% to �1.6 million (2018/19: �0.9 million), from success in front and backlist titles, and the continued impact of strategic changes in the division.

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Bestsellers in the year included Dishoom: From Bombay with Love Love by Shamil Thakrar, Kavi Thakrar and Naved Nasir, Tom Kerridge's Lose Weight & Get Fit, the global bestseller, The Anarchy by William Dalrymple, the number one Sunday Times bestseller Three Women by Lisa Taddeo, the Sunday Times bestsellers The Dutch House by Ann Patchett and City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert, and the New York Times bestsellers Elderhood by Louise Aronson and No Visible Bruises by Rachel Louise Snyder.

Children's Trade

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Children's sales were �59.4 million (2018/19: �65.8 million). Sales of the Harry Potter titles were in line with last year, with the Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Illustrated Edition by J.K. Rowling and Jim Kay published in October. The standard edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was the tenth bestselling children's book of the year on UK Nielsen Bookscan, twenty two years after it was first published - every year these classics reach a new generation of readers.

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Sarah J. Maas' new bestselling title, Crescent City: House of Earth and Blood, was published at the end of the financial year, compared to two new frontlist hardback titles in the previous year, and total sales for this author were 32% lower than last year. Other highlights on the Children's list included the second in Brigid Kemmerer's Cursebreaker series, A Heart So Fierce and Broken, the latest title in the Fantastically Great Women series by Kate Pankhurst, and backlist titles We're Going on an Egg Hunt by Laura Hughes, Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman, Holes by Louis Sachar and The Explorer by Katharine Rundell, alongside her new novel The Good Thieves.

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Audio

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Bloomsbury's new Audio division has delivered 190% revenue growth by focusing on production of key titles, distributed through an exclusive deal with Audible. This expert team has enabled us to produce 131 titles to date, launching with the Audible bestseller, The Madness of Crowds by Douglas Murray, as well as The Dutch House by Ann Patchett and Three Women by Lisa Taddeo.

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Charitable Initiatives

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As part of Bloomsbury's ongoing commitment to the wider communities in which we operate, we are proud to support a wide range of charitable initiatives. Highlights include:

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���� National Literacy Trust: Our three-year partnership with the National Literacy Trust with a particular focus on Hastings, one of the UK's most deprived local authority areas;

���� Publishing Children's books in partnership with three leading UK charities: the RSPB, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and The Woodland Trust;

���� World Book Day: We are extremely proud to support World Book Day, the most important, inclusive reading initiative in the UK;

���� Pathways Project: Aiming to increase the representation of underrepresented groups in children's illustration; Bloomsbury led workshops and mentoring;

���� Book Aid International and The Soho Center US: Book donations to these charities;

���� EmpathyLab: Working closely with this charity and many of our authors we ensure that children and the books they read support the teaching of empathy;

���� In addition, for every copy of Dishoom: From Bombay with Love sold, we donate towards the price of a meal for a hungry child to both of Dishoom's chosen charities, Magic Breakfast and The Akshaya Patra Foundation.

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IFRS 16

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During the year IFRS 16, Leases ("IFRS 16"), was introduced. Adoption of this standard has reduced the amount of rent and lease charges, increased depreciation charges and finance costs and increased the value of assets and liabilities. The net reduction to profit before taxation for the year ended 29 February 2020 was �0.2 million. The impact on EBITDA was an increase of �2.1 million and the impact on operating profit was an increase of �0.3 million.

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Throughout this announcement we have used profit before tax and amortisation as this provides the fairest profit comparison between the results to 29 February 2020, which include IFRS 16, and the previous year's results, which have not been restated.

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Board Changes

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As previously announced, Jonathan Glasspool, Executive Director and Managing Director for the Non-Consumer division, is retiring and will leave Bloomsbury at the end of July 2020, after twenty years' service.

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I would like to thank Jonathan for his exceptional contribution to Bloomsbury, building the major Academic & Professional publisher that Bloomsbury sought to add to its trade portfolio. The Academic & Professional division is now an impressive, award-winning business in its own right.

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We are delighted that Jenny Ridout, Bloomsbury's Global Head of Academic Publishing, has been promoted to be the new Managing Director of the Non-Consumer division. Jenny's knowledge of digital and academic publishing and her proven commercial abilities, are a very strong basis for achieving the growth expectations we have for this part of the business. Jenny has been with Bloomsbury for over 15 years, since the inception of the division in 2008, and will continue her role as Global Head of Academic Publishing. Jenny also joins Bloomsbury's Executive Committee.

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Management Action

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People

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In response to the coronavirus pandemic, management acted quickly to implement proactive measures to protect our staff and continue working effectively with our authors, illustrators, customers and suppliers. Staff globally are working safely and effectively from home.

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Financing

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We have extended the maturity of our facilities with Lloyds Bank Plc from May 2021 to May 2022 and amended covenants to exclude IFRS 16.

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Cost Savings

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Management has also taken the following proactive measures to conserve cash and reduce costs:

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-����� Board taking salary or board fee reductions of 30%, saving �0.03 million per month;

-����� Salary reductions across the majority of staff, weighted to more senior staff, saving �0.2 million per month;

-����� Participating in Government schemes in the UK and US to support staff and businesses, saving �0.7 million per month for the first two months and �0.1 million thereafter;

-����� Recruitment freeze and furloughing 14 staff, with top-up salaries for the majority of those affected, saving �0.03 million per month;

-����� Reducing discretionary spend to a minimum, including marketing and non-essential capital expenditure, saving an average of �0.9 million per month.

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Equity Placing�

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On 17 April 2020, Bloomsbury announced the successful completion of the non-pre-emptive placing of 5.0% of ordinary shares, raising gross proceeds of �8.4 million. Acting in the long-terms interests of all stakeholders, this placing strengthened our balance sheet to ensure we have sufficient working capital to weather the impact of coronavirus without damaging Bloomsbury's business; being able to retain our staff and acquire future titles is a crucial part of this.

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Future Publishing

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Our publishing list for 2020/21 includes Quidditch Through the Ages Illustrated Edition by J.K. Rowling and Emily Gravett, Fantastic Beasts and the Wonder of Nature in association with the Natural History Museum exhibition, Sarah J. Maas' number one New York Times bestseller Crescent City: House of Earth and Blood, Humankind by Rutger Bregman, Susanna Clarke's Piranesi, Brigid Kemmerer's A Vow so Bold and Deadly, and the authorised History of GCHQ, Behind the Enigma, by Professor John Ferris.

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Outlook

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There is no immediate certainty around the severity and duration of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on our business and therefore the Board is unable to provide guidance for the year ending 28 February 2021 at this time.

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The coronavirus crisis and imposition of government lockdowns and restrictions and retail closures continue to impact all our key markets of the UK, US, Australia and India as well as many other important markets. Orders for print books, which comprised 79% of the Company's revenue for the year ended 29 February 2020, are being affected in all our markets. Our UK, US and Australia warehouses remain open and continue supply to customers. We have positive sales prospects through Amazon, even as they prioritise essential crisis services, with strong growth in demand for e-books.

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April 2020 year-to-date revenue is 3% below last year, with print revenues at 87% of last year's sales and academic digital revenues up over 52% year-on-year.

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Our strategy of expanding and leveraging our digital rights and products means that we are well placed to benefit from increased demand for our digital resources, audio and e-books as we are with direct supply from Amazon, Bloomsbury.com, Waterstones.com and most internet retailers selling print books. Strong digital growth continues from academic institutional customers as libraries pivot swiftly to digital resources and reduce print purchases to support remote learning for students. However, academic institutions face major uncertainties over student recruitment, particularly international students, and when students will be allowed to return. This could bring financial uncertainty for many of our digital resource customers.

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The Board has modelled a severe but plausible downside scenario, including the impact of coronavirus. This assumes:

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���� Print revenues are reduced by 60%-65% for the three months of expected global restrictions to July 2020 and gradual recovery through to March 2021;

���� Downside assumptions about extended debtor days to the end of 2021;

���� In this scenario, we extend the cost reduction measures already implemented, as set out above.

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Under this pessimistic downside scenario, we expect our business model to be able to manage these downside assumptions and stay within the headroom of our current banking facilities.��

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Should a prolonged downside scenario not materialise the equity placing proceeds will be used for future growth opportunities. Bloomsbury has a successful track record of acquisitive growth via 26 strategic acquisitions and we continue to see opportunities in the Academic markets.

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Unaudited Consolidated Income Statement

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 29 FEBRUARY 2020

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�	�	Year ended	Year ended
�	�	29 February	28 February
�	�	2020	2019
�	Notes	�'000	�'000
Revenue	2	162,772	162,679
Cost of sales	�	(74,978)	(74,922)
Gross profit	�	87,794	87,757
Marketing and distribution costs	�	(21,373)	(22,053)
Administrative expenses	�	(52,949)	(53,735)
Operating profit before highlighted items	�	15,947	14,294
Highlighted items	3	(2,475)	(2,325)
Operating profit	�	13,472	11,969
Finance income	�	270	130
Finance costs	�	(513)	(50)
Profit before taxation and highlighted items	�	15,704	14,374
Highlighted items	3	(2,475)	(2,325)
Profit before taxation	�	13,229	12,049
Taxation	4	(2,728)	(2,802)
Profit for the year attributable to owners of the Company	�	10,501	9,247
�	�	�	�
�	�	�	�
Earnings per share attributable to owners of the Company	�	�	�
Basic earnings per share	6	14.03p	12.37p
Diluted earnings per share	6	13.84p	12.25p

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Unaudited Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 29 FEBRUARY 2020

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�	Year ended	Year ended
�	29 February	28 February
�	2020	2019
�	�'000	�'000
Profit for the year �	10,501	9,247
Other comprehensive income	�	�
Items that may be reclassified to the income statement:	�	�
Exchange differences on translating foreign operations	856	964
Items that may not be reclassified to the income statement:	�	�
Remeasurements on the defined benefit pension scheme	(115)	(5)
Other comprehensive income for the year net of tax	741	959
Total comprehensive income for the year attributable to the owners of the Company	11,242	10,206

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Items in the statement above are disclosed net of tax.

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Unaudited Consolidated Statement of Financial Position������� �������

AS AT 29 FEBRUARY 2020�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������

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�	�	29 February	28 February
�	�	2020	2019
�	Notes	�'000	�'000
Assets	�	�	�
Goodwill	�	45,030	44,895
Other intangible assets Investments	�	21,630 516	21,890 300
Property, plant and equipment	�	1,914	2,110
Right-of-use assets	�	13,343	-
Deferred tax assets	�	2,756	2,376
Trade and other receivables	7	1,237	1,360
Total non-current assets	�	86,426	72,931
�	�	�	�
Inventories	�	27,164	26,076
Trade and other receivables	7	84,805	80,506
Cash and cash equivalents	�	31,345	27,580
Total current assets	�	143,314	134,162
Total assets	�	229,740	207,093
�	�	�	�
Liabilities	�	�	�
Retirement benefit obligations	�	185	121
Deferred tax liabilities	�	2,347	2,360
Lease liabilities	�	12,945	-
Provisions	�	182	147
Total non-current liabilities	�	15,659	2,628
�	�	�	�
Trade and other liabilities	�	61,844	60,644
Lease liabilities	�	1,585	-
Current tax liabilities	�	328	-
Provisions	�	651	83
Total current liabilities	�	64,408	60,727
Total liabilities	�	80,067	63,355
Net assets	�	149,673	143,738
�	�	�	�
Equity �	�	�	�
Share capital	�	942	942
Share premium	�	39,388	39,388
Translation reserve	�	9,507	8,651
Other reserves	�	7,778	7,118
Retained earnings	�	92,058	87,639
Total equity attributable to owners of the Company	�	149,673	143,738

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Unaudited Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity

AS AT 29 FEBRUARY 2020

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�	Share capital �'000	Share premium �'000	Translation reserve ��'000	�Merger reserve �'000	Capital redemption reserve �'000	Share-based payment reserve �'000	Own shares held by EBT �'000	Retained �earnings �'000	Total equity �'000
At 28 February 2018 (restated*)	942	39,388	7,687	1,803	22	5,673	(1,043)	84,034	138,506
Profit for the year	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	9,247	9,247
Other comprehensive income	�	�	�	�	�	�	�	�	�
Exchange differences on translating foreign operations	-	-	964	-	-	-	-	-	964
Remeasurements on the defined benefit pension scheme	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	(5)	(5)
Total comprehensive income for the year	-	-	964	-	-	-	-	9,242	10,206
Transactions with owners	�	�	�	�	�	�	�	�	�
Dividends to equity holders of the Company Unclaimed dividends Share options exercised	- � - -	- � - -	- � - -	- � - -	- � - -	- � - -	- � - 241	(5,655) � 12 (27)	(5,655) � 12 214
Deferred tax on share-based payment transactions	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	33	33
Share-based payment transactions	-	-	-	-	-	422	-	-	422
Total transactions with owners of the Company	-	-	-	-	-	422	241	(5,637)	(4,974)
At 28 February 2019	942	39,388	8,651	1,803	22	6,095	(802)	87,639	143,738
Profit for the year	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	10,501	10,501
Other comprehensive income	�	�	�	�	�	�	�	�	�
Exchange differences on translating foreign operations	-	-	856	-	-	-	-	-	856
Remeasurements on the defined benefit pension scheme	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	(115)	(115)
Total comprehensive income for the year	-	-	856	-	-	-	-	10,386	11,242
Transactions with owners	�	�	�	�	�	�	�	�	�
Dividends to equity holders of the Company Share options exercised	- � -	- � -	- � -	- � -	- � -	- � -	- � 31	(6,009) � (4)	(6,009) � 27
Deferred tax on share-based payment transactions	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	46	46
Share-based payment transactions	-	-	-	-	-	629	-	-	629
Total transactions with owners of the Company	-	-	-	-	-	629	31	(5,967)	(5,307)
At 28 February 2020	942	39,388	9,507	1,803	22	6,724	(771)	92,058	149,673

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* The Group has applied IFRS 15 'Revenue from Contracts with Customers' and IFRS 9 'Financial Instruments' at 1 March 2018.� The cumulative impact of adoption has been recognised as a decrease to opening retained earnings as at 28 February 2018.

Unaudited Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 29 FEBRUARY 2020

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�	Year ended 29 February �2020 �'000	Year ended 28 February �2019 �'000
Cash flows from operating activities	�	�
Profit for the year	10,501	9,247
Adjustments for:	�	�
?Depreciation of property, plant and equipment	502	470
?Depreciation of right-of-use assets	1,775	-
?Amortisation of intangible assets	4,301	4,139
?Finance income	(270)	(130)
?Finance costs	513	50
?Share of loss of Joint Venture	7	-
?Share-based payment charges	761	498
?Tax expense	2,728	2,802
�	20,818	17,076
(Increase)/decrease in inventories	(620)	2,315
(Increase)/decrease in trade and other receivables	(4,385)	5,834
Increase/(decrease) in trade and other liabilities	2,489	(7,702)
Cash generated from operating activities	18,302	17,523
Income taxes paid	(1,706)	(2,529)
Net cash generated from operating activities	16,596	14,994
Cash flows from investing activities	�	�
Purchase of property, plant and equipment	(294)	(456)
Purchase of intangible assets Purchase of business, net of cash acquired	(3,137) (310)	(2,898) (4,004)
Purchase of rights to assets	(1,213)	-
Purchase of joint ventures Interest received	(223)	-
	254	116
Net cash used in investing activities	(4,923)	(7,242)
Cash flows from financing activities	�	�
Equity dividends paid Proceeds from exercise of share options Repayment of overdraft	(6,009) 27 -	(5,655) 214 (201)
Repayment of lease liabilities	(1,531)	-
Lease liability interest paid	(492)	-
Interest paid	(3)	(34)
Net cash used in financing activities	(8,008)	(5,676)
Net increase in cash and cash equivalents	3,665	2,076
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year	27,580	25,428
Exchange gain on cash and cash equivalents	100	76
Cash and cash equivalents at end of year	31,345	27,580

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NOTES

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1.� Accounting policies

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a)���� Basis of Preparation

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The financial information set out above does not constitute the company's statutory accounts for the years ended 29 February 2020 and 28 February 2019. The financial information for 2019 is derived from the statutory accounts for 2019 which have been delivered to the registrar of companies. The auditor has reported on the 2019 accounts; their report was (i) unqualified, (ii) did not include a reference to any matters to which the auditor drew attention by way of emphasis without qualifying their report and (iii) did not contain a statement under section 498 (2) or (3) of the Companies Act 2006. The statutory accounts for 2020 will be finalised on the basis of the financial information presented by the directors in this preliminary announcement and will be delivered to the registrar of companies in due course.

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The Group's financial statements have been prepared in accordance with IFRS and International Financial Reporting Interpretations Committee ("IFRIC") interpretations adopted by the European Union ("EU") at the time of preparing the Group's financial statements and those parts of the Companies Act 2006 applicable to companies reporting under IFRS. Except as described below, the accounting policies applied in the year ended 29 February 2020 are consistent with those applied in the financial statements for year ended 28 February 2019 with the exception of a number of new accounting standards and amendments which have not had a material impact on the Group's results.

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b)�� Going concern

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The Directors have a reasonable expectation that the Group has adequate resources to continue in operational existence at least 12 months from the date of this preliminary announcement, being the period of the detailed going concern assessment reviewed by the Board, and therefore continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the condensed consolidated financial statements.�

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The Board has modelled a severe but plausible downside scenario, including the impact of coronavirus. This assumes:

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������ Print revenues are reduced by 60%-65% for the three months of expected global coronavirus restrictions to July 2020 and gradual recovery through to March 2021;

������ Downside assumptions about extended debtor days to the end of 2021;

������ Cost reduction measures already implemented including salary reductions and reducing discretionary spend including marketing and non-essential capital expenditure.

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Under this severe but plausible downside scenario, the Group has sufficient liquidity to be able to manage these downside assumptions.

The Group has an unsecured revolving credit facility with Lloyds Bank Plc. The facility comprises a committed revolving loan facility of �8 million in the first half and an additional �4 million in the second half, totalling �12 million, to match Bloomsbury's cashflow cycle, and an uncommitted incremental term loan facility of up to �6 million. The facilities are subject to two covenants, being a maximum net debt to EBITDA ratio of 2.5x and a minimum interest cover covenant of 4x. Subsequent to the year end, the maturity of the facility was extended to May 2022 and the covenants were amended to exclude IFRS 16.� �

At 29 February 2020, the Group had no draw down of this facility.
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c)���� Change of accounting policy: IFRS 16

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The Group has adopted IFRS 16 Leases from 1 March 2019 and applied the modified retrospective approach.��Comparatives for 2019 have not been restated and there is no adjustment to equity at the date of application.�

On transition the Group elected not to reassess whether a contract is, or contains, a lease, instead relying on the assessment already made applying IAS 17 'Leases' and IFRIC 4 'Determining whether and Arrangement contains a Lease'. In addition, the Group applied the available practical expedients as follows:

������ Reliance on assessment as to whether leases are onerous on 1 March 2019 with no impact identified;

������ Exclude leases of low value assets and short term leases of less than 12 months from the application of IFRS 16, with payment for these leases continuing to be expensed directly to the income statement as operating leases;

������ The use of hindsight in determining the lease term where the contract contains options to extend or terminate the lease; and

������ Exclusion of initial direct costs for the measurement of the right-of-use asset at the date of initial application.

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The major class of lease impacted by the new standard is property leases.� The lease liability has been measured at the present value of the remaining lease payments, discounted using the incremental borrowing rate at transition.� The right-of-use assets are set to equal the lease liability adjusted for any prepaid or accrued lease payments.

The weighted average incremental borrowing rate ("IBR") applied to the lease liabilities on 1 March 2019 was 3.3%.� A single IBR has been applied to a portfolio of leases when these have shared similar characteristics including location, duration and nature of the leases. The approach to use an IBR to discount leases has been followed since the transition date as the interest rate implicit in individual leases cannot be readily determined.

At 1 March 2019 transition date adoption of IFRS 16 resulted in the Group recognising right-of-use assets of �13.6 million and lease liabilities of �14.5 million. There is a reduction of �0.3 million for prepaid rental amounts now netted against the right-of-use assets and a reduction of �1.2 million to liabilities for deferred rent-free amounts netted against the right-of-use asset.

The impact on the income statement for the year ended 29 February 2020 is as follows:

�	�	�	�	Year ended 29 February 2020 �'000
Decrease in administrative expenses	�	�	�	2,055
EBITDA benefit	�	�	�	2,055
Increase in depreciation	�	�	�	(1,775)
Operating profit benefit	�	�	�	280
Increase in finance costs	�	�	�	(492)
Profit before tax reduction	�	�	�	(212)

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Prior to the adoption of IFRS 16 rental payments were charged to the income statement on a straight-line basis. Under IFRS 16 rental costs in the income statement are replaced with depreciation on the right-of-use asset and interest charges on the lease liability. The adoption of IFRS 16 gives rise to a net �212,000 charge in the profit before tax for the year ended 29 February 2020.� At operating profit, the adoption of IFRS 16 gives a benefit of �280,000.� The impact is the same for both the statutory profit before tax and adjusted profit before tax.

There is no overall impact on the Group's cash and cash equivalents although there is a change to the classification of cash flows in the cash flow statement with lease payments previously categorised as net cash used in operations now being split between the principal element (categorised in financing activities) and the interest element (categorised as interest paid in financing activities). The impact on the cash flow statement for the year ended 29 February 2020 is as follows:

�	� Pre IFRS 16 �'000	Repayment of lease� liabilities �'000	Interest paid �'000	Post IFRS 16 �'000
Net cash used in operating activities	14,573	1,531	492	16,596
Net cash used in financing activities	(5,985)	(1,531)	(492)	(8,008)

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2.� Revenue and segmental analysis
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The Group is comprised of two worldwide publishing divisions: Consumer and Non-Consumer, reflecting the core customers for our different operations. The Consumer division is further split out into two operating segments; Children's Trade and Adult Trade, and Non-Consumer is split between two operating segments; Academic & Professional and Special Interest.

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Each reportable segment represents a cash-generating unit for the purpose of impairment testing. We have allocated goodwill between reportable segments.� These divisions are the basis on which the Group primarily reports its segment information. Segments derive their revenue from book publishing, sale of publishing and distribution rights, management and other publishing services.

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The analysis by segment is shown below:

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