Investors in fantasy and fiction publisher Bloomsbury (BMY) are living in a dream world at the moment as the group continues to book double-digit annual growth in both sales and earnings and raise its outlook, sending its shares to a record high of 758p.

For the first half to the end of August, revenue grew 32% to a record £180 million and profit leapt 50% to £26.6 million, partly due to the inclusion of the Rowman & Littlefield academic portfolio but mainly thanks to the continued rip-roaring success of fantasy fiction as a genre.

Consumer revenue rose 47% to £131 million, with JK Rowling’s Harry Potter series still a best-seller 27 years after it was first published and sales of Sarah J Mass’ fantasy series topping 40 million copies all told after being translated into 38 languages.

There was more good news to come though – thanks to its strong first-half performance and ‘good’ trading in September and October, the firm now expects its results for the full year to February 2025 to be ahead of the current consensus.

As it stands, analysts have pencilled in sales of £319 million, down 7% on the previous year, and profit before tax of £37.5 million, down 23% on the previous year. 

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