In comments made in connection with the release of Bloomsbury Publishing's year-end results, company chairman Nigel Newton said further expansion into the U.S. market is one of the London-based publisher's top priorities for 2002. Sales in North America jumped 77% last year to £7.7 million ($11 million), representing about 13% of Bloomsbury's £61.1 million ($88 million) in total revenues in the year. Pretax profit in the year rose 62.5%, to £9.3 million.
During 2001, Bloomsbury USA published 44 titles and had good success with A Cook's Tour, The Flaneur, 30 Days in Sydney and The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things. Its newly formed children's division plans to publish 34 books this year, and the company said early reaction to the line has been very positive. To help with its U.S. expansion, in January Bloomsbury appointed Michael Mayer, president of the San Francisco venture capital firm Berkeley International Capital Corp., as a non-executive board member.
