Harry Potter firm in box-set plan

The seventh and final novel, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, will be published on 21 July.

And the firm has now said that it will launch a box-set of all seven books about the teenage wizard on 1 October.

Bloomsbury, which saw annual profits drop 74% in 2006 - a Potter-free year - said that export orders for the final book were up 17% on book number six.

Euphoria faded

The global success of the Harry Potter books has generated bumper profits for Bloomsbury, but the company is now under pressure to find new hit publications as the Potter series draws to a close.

"Earlier successes now appear a distant memory"
Keith Bowman, Hargreaves Lansdown

In a statement ahead of its annual general meeting (AGM), Bloomsbury said it would not be giving any guidance on its 2007 profit because of the "unpredictable market".

However it said that it was confident of its strategy for the "medium and long term".

Shares in Bloomsbury are now below 200 pence, having nearly touched 400 pence two years ago.

"Earlier successes now appear a distant memory," said Hargreaves Lansdown equity analyst Keith Bowman.

"Whilst Harry Potter remains a key ingredient in the group's future success, management are now having to look beyond the initial euphoria created, with new authors and acquisitions being sought."

He added: "On balance, the jury is still out as to whether management can inject the necessary levels of diversification needed in the highly competitive publishing world."

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