Nigel Newton

Bloomsbury Publishing reported a 16 per cent rise in pre-tax profits to £9.8m helped by strong sales of ebooks and a shift to higher margin academic and professional publishing.

In results for the year to the end of February, group revenues rose 1 per cent to £98.5m, below consensus expectations of a climb to £103m, as the positive sales impact from sales of Harry Potter novels continues to fade.

 Bloomsbury is expanding internationally, with the launch of Bloomsbury India today (21st September).

The New Delhi-based company will publish both Indian and international authors, in fiction and non-fiction.

In November 2012, it will release the first Wisden India Cricketers' Almanack 2012, which will be followed in December by Return of a King: The Battle for Afghanistan by William Dalrymple, whose previous book Nine Lives was a number one bestseller in India, according to the publisher.

Bloomsbury has announced an 11.5% rise in turnover to 103.2m (up from 92.6m in 2011) for the year ending 29th February 2012. Total continuing turnover was up 16.9% to 97.4m (83.3m). Pre-tax profit was up 13.6% to 4.8m (4.3m). Pre-tax profit before acquisition costs, restructuring and relocation costs and a loss on disposal of German subsidiary Bloomsbury Verlag was up 25.2% to 9.4m (7.5m). Continuing pre-tax profit before those costs was up 53% to 12.1m (7.9m). The company cited 159% growth of e-book sales to a total of 5.7m (up from 2.2m in 2011). Meanwhile Bloomsbury's Academic & Professional

Bloomsbury's US subsidiary, Bloomsbury Publishing Inc, has completed the purchase of academic publisher Fairchild Books, acquiring the company for $6.5m (4m) from Fairchild Fashion Media. New York-based Fairchild publishes textbooks and educational resources for fashion, merchandising, retailing and interior design students. Its parent company is Fairchild Fashion Media, a unit of magazine publisher Cond Nast. Following the acquisition, the business will be managed by Kathryn Earle, Bloomsbury's head of visual arts, and will report in to Bloomsbury's Academic & Professional division. For the year ended 31st December 2011, Fairchild Books generated net profit before tax of $706,000 (440,797) and