Old-school books are making a comeback.
U.K.-based Bloomsbury Publishing reported record annual sales and profit Wednesday, crediting them to the return of hardcovers and paperbacks as a replacement for more expensive forms of entertainment.
“A paperback is much cheaper than even a one-month subscription to many services,” Bloomsbury CEO Nigel Newton said, the Financial Times reported Wednesday, comparing the price of a book to a Netflix Premium subscription worth $19.99 a month.
“You get two books every month for this money, and you get 24 books a year. You’d never have a moment left,” Newton said.
Bloomsbury, which has published several leading books including the Harry Potter series, saw an increase of 15% in revenue and 16% in pre-tax profits between March 2022 and February 2023, compared to a year earlier. The sales of children’s books were up 17%, driven by hit titles from author Sarah J. Maas, and adult book sales were up 5%.
In the company’s earnings release, Newton said that this marked the company’s “best-ever performance” in nearly four decades, pointing out some of the underlying economic factors fueling the trend.
“In challenging economic times, readers are turning to books as affordable as they cut back on more expensive forms of diversion,” Newton said in a statement. The company’s operations stretch well beyond the U.K., with international revenues accounting for 73% of Bloomsbury’s total revenues.
Persistent inflation and the elevated cost of consumer staples like groceries have eaten into people’s budgets and limited their ability to spend on luxuries. The cost of living in the U.K. has skyrocketed in recent months, with food and nonalcoholic beverage prices increases hitting a 45-year high in March.
Streaming services—including Netflix—have raised their prices as well. These increases have not been limited in the U.K., and other big markets including the U.S. have also seen price hikes.
Bloomsbury claimed that its success can be attributed to its strategy of focusing on consumer as well as academic books. It’s also growing its digital segment, which includes providing academic resources to universities, where revenues grew 41% in the last year.
Bloomsbury did not immediately return Fortune’s request for comment.
Are books really here to stay?
The COVID-19 pandemic forced people to stay indoors for prolonged periods, forcing many to find new ways—or in this case, a time-tested way—to pass time. Physical book sales jumped globally in 2020, with U.K. sales hitting 202 million books and U.S. sales reaching 751 million. In both cases, they were among the highest book sales figures compared to the immediate few years prior, the Guardian reported.
While other alternatives like e-books have become a more convenient option for readers in recent years, physical book sales still outpace any other format.
Streaming companies like Netflix and Disney are evaluating their streaming offerings after years of eating high costs to grow market share and develop content. Netflix recently expanded its password-sharing crackdown to the U.S., while Disney is considering a price hike to its flagship Disney+ service.
As for subscribers of streaming sites like Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, and HBO Max, studies have found them to be highly sensitive to changes in the prices of those services. According to consultancy firm Simon-Kucher, 50% of users across streaming platforms would cancel their subscriptions if prices were to increase by up to 30%.
So, if the cost of streaming rises further, strong print book sales may become more common as consumers switch to a cheaper form of entertainment.
