Walker Books operating profit up 30% in 2021

Walker Books’s operating profit grew 30% in 2021 to £6.8 million (A$11.3m), up from £5.3 million (A$9.2m) in 2020, reports the Bookseller.

Walker attributed its profit growth to cost reductions. Its revenue for the same period grew 1.9% to £83.5m (A$145.2m).

The company said it considers the figures to be ‘a strong result’ while noting recent global supply chain disruptions are causing printing delays and a ‘rapid rise in costs’.

‘There was a pulp and paper supply shortage in Europe and an overcapacity issue with printers in the US,’ said the publisher. ‘Full repair of these external concerns is not anticipated during the 2022 fiscal year, and thus the company will continue to take mitigating actions with regard to securing supply, supervising delivery and publication timelines and managing costs.’

Group managing director Karen Lotz noted it was Walker’s 10th straight year of revenue growth.

‘In a year where global supply chain tensions, particularly in the US, began to cause significant disruption to deliveries by the second half of the year, combined with the ongoing impacts of Covid-19, group sales nonetheless grew,’ Lotz said, adding the company had expanded across all major markets and reduced its administrative expenses ‘due to pandemic-related working practices’.

Category: International news