The Bookseller.com

13th October 2008

« Headlines

BBC Audiobooks reverses profit decline

08.07.08 John Ryan

BBC Audiobooks delivered a £1.9m profit in the year to 31st March 2008, thanks to tight cost controls and a 47.5% year-on-year rise in digital download sales. The figure reverses the previous year's dramatic decline in after-tax profit, which fell to £497,000 in the year to 31st March 2007 compared to £1.3m the year before.

Overall, parent company BBC Worldwide saw profits rise 17% to £117.7m over the period, with sales up 13% to £916.3m.

BBC Worldwide's audiobook and music businesses were combined in 2006/2007 with sales in the enlarged division rising by 14.6% to £26.7m in the year to end-March 2008. The division's overall profit increased to £6m, up from a loss of £2.4m in 2006/07, which BBC Worldwide put down to the release of a litigation provision which was no longer required.

BBC Worldwide said that digital sales of spoken word content were now "climbing steadily", with 312,000 downloads purchased in the year via a range of online outlets including Audible, Apple iTunes and bbcshop.com.

Sales in BBC Worldwide's "Books, Learning, Retail" division fell from 2007's £9.6m to just £2.8 this year, reflecting the company's move to bow out of the category. The decision to largely quit books and retail led to one of the few divisional losses incurred by BBC Worldwide, amounting to £100,000, against a profit of £8.6m the previous year.

The firm has retained minority shareholdings in BBC Books (Random House), BBC Children's Books (Penguin) and BBC Active (Pearson).

On the retail front BBC Worldwide has retained a single store for staff and visitors, based at the BBC TV Centre in White City.

John Smith, c.e.o., said: "BBC Worldwide has achieved another year of double-digit profit growth, while also making significant strategic investments in new businesses to prepare the company for the digital media world. The continued international appeal of our content and formats, coupled with high demand for home entertainment and the strengthening in key markets of our channels and production operations, has enabled the company to report very good results."

BBC Worldwide also announced that 2008/2009 would be a landmark year for Lonely Planet (which BBCWW acquired a 75% stake in last October), with a website relaunch, a magazine and a range of new book products in the pipeline.
 

Financial Audio Media John Ryan BBC Home audiobooks