Interim Results

BLOOMSBURY PUBLISHING PLC
6 October 1999


      Interim Statement for the period ending 30 June 1999

Overview
I  am  pleased  to  report  a strong performance  by  Bloomsbury
Publishing  in the first half of the year, one that augurs  well
for the full year and the long-term prosperity of the company.

This period has been characterised by a significant increase  in
business  activity through the continued success  in  publishing
popular quality books both in the UK and the USA. The growth  in
turnover  and  operating  profit was also  attributable  to  the
continued smoothing out of the cyclical pattern of our business.

Turnover  was up 29.7% to £6.374 million (1998: £4.915  million)
which was due to the success of titles such as The Tulip by Anna
Pavord,  East of the Mountains by David Guterson, The House  Gun
by  Nadine  Gordimer,  and  Soft by  Rupert  Thomson.  Increased
revenues  from  backlist  titles  and  the  developing  American
business  through Bloomsbury USA also contributed to the  growth
in  turnover. Gross profit increased by 34.3% to £3.176  million
(1998:  £2.364  million) on the back of increased  turnover  and
improved  margins.  Operating profit increased to £0.04  million
(1998: £0.01 million).

The  company  had  a cash outflow from operating  activities  of
£2.804m  against  a  cash inflow for the same period  in  1998  of
£0.290m.  This was due to a combination of the final development
phase  of the Encarta World English Dictionary and the start  of
its  marketing  campaign; development  work  on  new  electronic
reference databases, and the acquisition of licences in the book
division for publication in 2000 and 2001.

Interim Dividend
The  Directors have declared a dividend of 0.8 pence  per  share
(1998:  0.8 pence per share) which will be paid on 15th December
1999  to  those  shareholders on the register at  the  close  of
business on 5th November 1999.

Review

Book Division

The  period under review demonstrated that Bloomsbury  continues
to attract some of the world's most highly regarded authors. Our
spring  fiction  list was strong, led by East of the  Mountains,
the  second  novel by David Guterson (author of Snow Falling  of
Cedars  which  has  sold  over 700,000 copies  to  date).  Ahdaf
Souief's  acclaimed  new  novel  of  Egypt,  The  Map  of  Love,
published  in  June, has been short-listed for the  1999  Booker
Prize. Lesley Glaisters' Sheer Blue Bliss won sales and plaudits
from  critics  and  readers  alike.  The  company's  ability  to
identify  and  nurture  new  talent was  shown  again  with  the
publication  of Shadow Box, the successful first  novel  by  the
young Irish writer Antonia Logue.

In  the  area  of  non-fiction, the  highlight  was  the  ground
breaking  bestseller The Tulip by Anna Pavord, a social  history
of the flower, which sold vigorously all over the world.

As  with  fiction,  Bloomsbury is  able  to  acquire  rights  to
important non-fiction in the face of great competition. This was
the  case, for example, with Wade Davis' much talked about  book
Mallory,  about  the  famous mountaineer who  died  on  Everest.
Another  important recent non-fiction acquisition is Deliver  Us
From Evil, a post Cold War study from the celebrated journalist,
William Shawcross, for publication in 2000.

Through careful marketing and scheduling, the paperback list hit
the  market  with  at least two big-selling  books  every  month
during  the  period. Our paperback team showed their ability  to
market  literary  titles  to the mass  market.   This  was  well
demonstrated  with the publication of The House  Gun  by  Nadine
Gordimer,  the  Nobel Prize Winner. Other successes  during  the
period were Charles Flemming's High Concept: the Life and  Times
of Don Simpson and Hunter S Thomson's, The Rum Diary.

During  the first half of the year there was an enormous  amount
of activity in preparing for the publication of Harry Potter and
The  Prisoner of Azkaban. This carefully co-ordinated  marketing
campaign  resulted  in  a  huge amount of  pre-publicity,  which
generated  massive  interest from book shops and  readers  alike
when it was finally launched at 3.45pm on 8th July.

The   success  of  Harry  Potter  sometimes  clouds  the   other
achievements  of  the children's department. In fact  Bloomsbury
achieved a second outstanding success story with the publication
of  No Matter What, written and illustrated by Debi Gliori. This
remarkable  book for pre-school children has sold  over  150,000
copies  in 14 languages.  In the UK, it sold 20,000, five  times
the average annual sales for a young children's book. We believe
strongly that Debi Gliori will become one of the world's leading
pre-school book writer/illustrators. She is currently working on
her second book for us.

As Bloomsbury's reputation and backlist grow, the potential from
overseas sales becomes greater.  In order to capitalize on this we
reviewed our distribution arrangements in key export markets and
consequently appointed Penguin International with  its  team  of
forty  to  sell  our books on a commission basis throughout  the
world's  non-English  speaking  markets.  We  expect  these  new
arrangements to double our business in Europe.  New  Zealand  is
now  handled  by Allen and Unwin with whom we also have  a  very
successful arrangement in Australia.

Bloomsbury USA continued to develop its US list by the  addition
of  young American authors such as Alyson Richman, author of The
Mask  Carver's Son, and James Gunn, author of The Toy Collector.
UK  originated  titles such as The Tulip also benefited  greatly
from having a dedicated marketing presence in the US.

The Reference and Electronic Media Division

The first half of 1999 was a period of intense activity while we
printed the Encarta World English Dictionary ahead of world-wide
publication in August. After delivering the text to our partners
Microsoft, for their electronic version (released in September),
we  typeset, proof read and printed 4,400 pages (2,200 each  for
the  UK and US print versions).  The launch of the Encarta World
English  Dictionary  is  backed  by  a  long-term  international
marketing and PR campaign, aimed at building the dictionary into
a  globally  recognised brand, essential for home  and  business
use.   Other  database projects are currently under development.
Delivery of the first stage of the Microsoft Quotations database
was  completed  in February. Work also continues  on  two  other
major database projects, which shall be announced in due course.

Outlook
The  outlook  for  Bloomsbury Publishing is  excellent.  Trading
since the end of the period has been strong, although key to the
year's  final outcome will be our performance over the Christmas
period.

Looking  to  the longer term, we believe our business  has  huge
potential  for  even greater success and for creating  long-term
earnings.   Books are being commissioned for 2000 and 2001,  and
with  the  growing list of successful authors,  revenue  streams
from these licences will continue to grow.
                                
In the Harry Potter series, we have a potentially massive income
generator for the company; an evergreen classic children's  book
that  will entertain generations of children. Four books  remain
to  be  published, and, together with the existing titles, these
will create at least twenty different editions over the next ten
years. I have no hesitation in predicting that these books  will
still be bought for children in a hundred years time.

In  the  area of electronic reference, following the publication
of  the  Encarta  World English Dictionary, we  are  now  firmly
established  as  one  of  the  world's  leading  publishers   of
reference data. Two other major databases of comparable size are
in the pipeline.

Bloomsbury USA is demonstrating its significant potential and we
will  see  the importance of its revenues growing in the  months
ahead.  The US is a huge untapped market for Bloomsbury  and  we
are  determined  to ensure that we earn the same reputation  for
the high standard that we have gained in this country.

Our  core  activity  of  literary  publishing  continues  to  be
successful  at identifying new authors, achieving  best  sellers
and  creating  a back-list of quality that will be  in  constant
demand  for  many  years to come. We have also invested  in  the
future  by appointing several senior executives in key editorial
and  marketing  positions, to ensure we  maintain  our  flow  of
successful books and then see them imaginatively promoted.

The future looks bright for Bloomsbury Publishing as we continue
to  secure  authors of quality. We have established  long  terms
brands including the Encarta World English Dictionary, the Harry
Potter  series of books, major authors such as Joanna  Trollope,
and an increasingly valuable back list.


Nigel Newton
Chairman
6th October 1999


RESULTS

The  unaudited profit and loss account for the six months  ended
30th June 1999 was as follows:

                             6 months     6 months      Year ended
                           ended 30th   ended 30th   31st December
                            June 1999    June 1998            1998
                          (unaudited)  (unaudited)       (audited)
                                £'000        £'000           £'000
                                                                  
Turnover                        6,374        4,915          15,231
Cost of sales                  (3,198)      (2,551)         (7,594)
Gross Profit                    3,176        2,364           7,637
Marketing and                  (1,130)        (716)         (1,701)
distribution costs
Administrative expenses        (2,006)      (1,637)         (3,659)
Operating profit/(loss)            40           11           2,277
Interest (net)                   (143)        (338)           (705)
(Loss)/profit on                                                  
ordinary activities              (103)        (327)          1,572
before taxation
Taxation                            -            -           (449)
(Loss)/profit on                                                  
ordinary activities             (103)        (327)           1,123
after taxation
Dividends                       (106)         (72)            (456)
(Loss)/profit for the period    (209)        (399)             667
(Basic loss)/earnings per                                               
ordinary                      (0.80p)      (3.58p)          12.00p
 share
(Fully diluted                                                    
loss)/earnings per share      (0.77p)      (3.58p)          11.94p


Notes:


1.    The  loss  per ordinary share for the six months  to  30th
      June  1999 is based on the loss after taxation of £103,000
      (1998 loss- £327,000) and on a weighted average number  of
      ordinary   shares   in   issue  of  13,229,805   (1998   -
      9,121,693).  The  earnings  per  ordinary  share  for  the
      twelve  months  to  31st December 1998  is  based  on  the
      profit   after  taxation  of  £1,123,000  and  a  weighted
      average  number of ordinary shares in issue of  9,358,242.
      The  fully  diluted earnings per share has been calculated
      by  reference  to  a weighted average number  of  Ordinary
      Shares  in  issue  of 13,442,375 (1998 - 9,136,201)  which
      takes account of share options.

2.    As  the  Company has typically made a loss for  the  first
      six  months  of the year tax has not been charged  to  the
      profit and loss account.

3.    The  figures  for the six months ended 30th June  1999  do
      not  comprise  full  accounts. The  financial  information
      included  in  this  document  has  been  approved  by  the
      Directors  and  prepared on a consistent  basis  with  the
      accounts  for the year ended 31st December 1998.  Accounts
      for  the  year ended 31st December 1998 which received  an
      unqualified  audit  report  have  been  lodged  with   the
      Registrar of Companies. The announcement is being sent  to
      shareholders and will be made available at our  registered
      office.



BALANCE SHEET

                            30th June    30th June   31st December
                                 1999         1998            1998
                          (unaudited)  (unaudited)       (audited)
                                £'000        £'000           £'000
                                                                  
Fixed assets                                                      
Tangible assets                   323          261             284
                                                                  
Current assets                                                    
Stocks                          8,399        5,223           6,694
Debtors due within one         12,554        9,081          12,173
year
Debtors due after one           5,622        7,738           5,907
year
                               26,575       22,042          24,774
                                                                  
Creditors: amounts                                                
falling due within one         10,688       12,189           7,853
year                                              
Net current assets             15,887        9,853          16,921
                                                                  
Total assets less              16,210       10,114          17,205
current liabilities
                                                                  
Creditors: amounts                                                
falling due after more          1,588        2,160           2,370
than one year
                                                                  
Provisions for                  1,070          692           1,070
liabilities and charges
                                                                  
                               13,552        7,262          13,765
                                                                  
Capital and reserves                                              
Called up share capital           661          451             661
Share premium account          10,172        4,949          10,176
Capital redemption                  9            9               9
reserve
Profit and loss account         2,710        1,853           2,919
                                                                  
Total shareholders'            13,552        7,262          13,765
funds


CASH FLOW STATEMENT

                             6 months     6 months      Year ended
                           ended 30th   ended 30th   31st December
                            June 1999    June 1998            1998
                          (unaudited)  (unaudited)       (audited)
                                £'000        £'000           £'000
                                                                  
                                                                  
Net cash                      (2,804)          290             203
inflow/(outflow) from
operating activities
                                                                  
Returns in investment                                             
and servicing of finance
Interest paid                   (140)        (228)            (737)
Interest received                   -            -               7
                                                                  
Net cash outflow from           (140)        (228)            (730)
returns on investment
and servicing of finance
                                                                  
Taxation                                                          
Tax paid                         (84)            -             (83)
                                                                  
Capital expenditure                                               
Purchase of fixed assets         (79)         (12)             (79)
                                                                  
Equity dividends paid               -            -            (333)
                                                                  
Financing                                                         
Repayment of loans               (57)        (190)          (2,383)
Shares placed (net of               -            -           5,437
expenses)
                               ______       ______          ______
(Net cash outflow)/cash          (57)        (190)           3,054
inflow
                                                                  
(Decrease)/increase in        (3,164)        (140)           2,032
cash