Bastei Lubbe AG, a leading German publishing group, announced a solid start to its 2026/2027 financial year with a 4.4% increase in group revenues, reaching EUR 24.6 million in the period from April to June 2026. The company, listed in the Prime Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, reported an EBIT of EUR 1.1 million, translating into an EBIT margin of 4.4%. Despite persistent muted conditions in the German book market, the company achieved revenue growth, driven by successful new releases under both new and established imprints.
Soheil Dastyari, CEO of Bastei Lubbe AG, commented: "Once again, we were able to boost our revenues and also make significant progress in terms of profitability compared to the previous quarter. We will be systematically continuing on this trajectory as the year progresses."
The company's "Book" segment saw revenues rise to EUR 22.9 million from EUR 21.4 million in the previous year, with particularly strong performances from the new "Pfaueninsel" imprint and the classic "Lübbe" imprint. The Pfaueninsel imprint benefited from the success of "Traume aus Feuer" by Florian Illies, a SPIEGEL bestseller that frequently topped the charts. Under the Lübbe imprint, Lucy Astner's novel "Kein Sommer ohne August" remained a fixture on the bestseller list, along with the paperback edition of Ken Follett's "The Armour of Light" and Eva Almstadt's crime thriller "Akte Nordsee – Die letzte Predigt". However, segment EBIT in the Book segment declined slightly to EUR 1.0 million from EUR 1.2 million in the same quarter last year.
In the "Novel Booklets" segment, revenues increased to EUR 1.7 million from EUR 1.6 million, and segment EBIT improved to EUR 0.1 million from EUR 0.0 million.
The company also noted a shift in revenue composition. The share of revenues from community-driven business models contracted to 24% in the first quarter, down from 31% in the previous year, while digital products accounted for 35% of revenues, down from 38%.
Higher costs impacted earnings, with the cost of materials rising to EUR 12.4 million from EUR 10.6 million, primarily due to increased printing costs ahead of new releases. Personnel expenses also increased to EUR 6.1 million from EUR 5.7 million, attributed to scheduled salary adjustments and a higher number of employees.
Consolidated earnings before taxes (EBT) came to EUR 1.0 million, down from EUR 1.2 million in the previous year. Net profit attributable to shareholders was EUR 0.7 million, resulting in earnings per share of EUR 0.05, compared to EUR 0.06 in the prior year.
As of 30 June 2026, total group assets were valued at EUR 107.2 million, down from EUR 109.0 million as of 31 March 2026. Equity attributable to shareholders increased to EUR 66.4 million from EUR 65.7 million.
Looking ahead, Bastei Lubbe confirmed its full-year forecast for 2026/2027, expecting revenues between EUR 118 million and EUR 122 million and EBIT in the range of EUR 10.0 million to EUR 12.0 million. The company noted that profitability has improved noticeably since the fourth quarter of 2025/2026 and is approaching its target.
Bastei Lubbe AG's interim statement for the first three months of 2026/2027 is available at www.bastei-luebbe.de.
