25 March 2021
Summary
• Revenue increased by 2%, EBITDA by 27%, and net profit by 35%, with strong revenue development in Q4
• Underlying net profit, excluding restructuring and acquisition costs and one-off tax impact, up by 39%
• Strong growth in eProduct sales and Open Access revenue
• 57% of revenue comes from digital publications, eBook sales grew by 9.5%
• The 2018-2020 profit improvement plan finalized in line with expectations
• Profit increased partly by one-off savings due to COVID-19 and other events – see financial development
• Integration of Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht acquisition started according to plan
Peter Coebergh, CEO commented “The year 2020 was unprecedented in Brill’s 338-year history. Following a positive first quarter, the COVID-19 pandemic led to lockdowns and closed universities around the world and a sharp decline in our print book sales in the period March-June. However, taking rapid action in March, Brill management launched a cost-saving program and we transitioned to working from home, maintaining contact with our authors, customers and vendors in online environments. Over the summer the academic publishing market again demonstrated resilience in economic crises. Together with a significant growth of our e-business, an exceptionally good financial outcome resulted.
In this extraordinary year, more than ever, our employees had the greatest impact on the health of our business and for this we owe a debt of gratitude.”