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Piatkus profits soar

18.12.07 John Ryan

Piatkus profits soared by 77% in the year to end-June 2007, leaping from £232,624 to £412,863. Turnover at the independent publisher rose less sharply, up 12% from £8.77m to £9.82m, with margins improving from 37% to 42%.

The results predate the sale of Piatkus to Little, Brown, which took place in July, but the momentum has continued since the sale according to Little, Brown c.e.o. Ursula Mackenzie. "We are confident of a good year with Piatkus in 2008," she said.

Antonia Hodgson, Little, Brown publishing director, added: "I think the whole of the Piatkus team are now happily installed and we have some great editors working with us." She continued: "Nora Roberts is an absolute jewel of their fiction list and we'll also be reinventing her covers over the next few weeks." Mackenzie said that Nora Roberts "represents a big opportunity as our greater presence in the mass-market will make further penetration in the all-important supermarket area easier to achieve."

The news comes in the wake of the departures of Piatkus founder and m.d. Judy Piatkus and co-director Philip Cotterell, which formed part of the handover agreement that was reached when the company was sold. Piatkus' fiction director, Gillian Green, also left recently. She has been replaced by Emma Dunford from literary agency Jane Gregory Associates.

Financial John Ryan Piatkus Little Brown

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