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Bonnier Books—owner of Bonnier Books UK and part of Sweden's Bonnier Group—has said the UK arm achieved "positive results" in 2020, while it reported an uplift in sales overall, up from SEK 5.77bn (£500m) to SEK 6.11bn (£530m), driven mainly by its publishing business and the audio and e-book service BookBeat.
In the report, the company said the year for Bonnier Books was characterised by improved EBITA (earnings before interest, taxes and amortisation), up from SEK 250m (£21.7m) to SEK 392m (£34m), or an EBITA margin of over 12%, as the result of increased market shares, accelerated sales of digital formats and consistent cost reductions.
"Positive results" were reported of Bonnier Books UK "despite the stringent lockdown measures as a result of the pandemic". It's expected that the figures will be shared later this month. A little over a year ago Bonnier Books said the UK arm was "primed for growth", having reported a return to profitability with £1.1m in profits for 2019 following "a period of transformation, consolidation and continued growth".
The company said Bonnier Books in Germany achieved its highest turnover and "best results ever" in 2020. Meanwhile, in the Nordic countries, Werner Söderström in Finland also "achieved record results"; the Swedish Bonnierförlagen "showed increases compared to the previous year"; and the 50% owned Cappelen Damm in Norway "showed stable results".
"Naturally, the effects of the pandemic hit hardest on an already exposed physical retail trade, where Pocket Shop’s sales declined markedly," the company said. "Academic Bookstore in Finland also suffered in terms of sales but managed to improve its result compared to the previous year."
BookBeat was described as a "major investment focus" during the year. The audio and e-book service "maintained its planned growth rate in both sales and subscriptions", it said - with paid-up members for the service succeeding 420,000 by 2020's close, an increase of 167,000 - while expanding its market presence to Denmark and Poland.
Also highlighted in the report was the acquisition of Strawberry Publishing in Sweden and Denmark, and the group's sustainability efforts.
Swedish online bookstore Adlibris made "major improvements in profitability in 2020", with EBITA reaching SEK 50m, an improvement of SEK 267m that was attributed to "higher sales, a stronger margin, inventory optimization and a more efficient logistics chain". Sales were up 19% on the previous year, at SEK 2.7bn, of which book sales increased by 22% "mainly driven by private customers’ increased digital purchases in connection with the pandemic and increased investment in marketing in digital channels".
Full group sales totalled SEK 20.77bn, up from SEK 20.67bn, and EBITA was SEK 1.43bn, up from SEK 402m.