Bastei Lubbe AG, a leading German publishing group, has entered its 2026/2027 financial year with continued revenue growth, reporting group revenues of EUR 24.6 million for the first quarter (April-June 2026), up from EUR 21.4 million in the previous year. The company's EBIT reached EUR 1.1 million, translating into an EBIT margin of 4.4%. Despite persistent muted conditions in the German book market, the company achieved solid growth, particularly in its Book segment.
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 revenue performance was bolstered by top releases under both new and established imprints, including the new 'Pfaueninsel' imprint and the classic 'Lübbe' imprint.
In the Book segment, revenues increased to EUR 22.9 million from EUR 21.4 million in the prior year. The success was driven by the SPIEGEL bestseller 'Traume aus Feuer' by Florian Illies under the Pfaueninsel imprint, which has remained in the top ten since publication, and Lucy Astner's novel 'Kein Sommer ohne August' under the Lübbe imprint. The strong paperback edition of Ken Follett's 'The Armour of Light' and Eva Almstadt's crime thriller 'Akte Nordsee – Die letzte Predigt' also contributed to the segment's performance. Segment EBIT, however, declined slightly to EUR 1.0 million from EUR 1.2 million in the same quarter last year.
The 'Novel Booklets' segment saw a slight revenue increase to EUR 1.7 million from EUR 1.6 million, with segment EBIT improving to EUR 0.1 million. The community-driven business models accounted for 24% of revenues, down from 31% in the previous year, while digital products made up 35% of revenues, down from 38%. This shift reflects the strong performance of traditional print formats in the quarter.
Higher costs impacted earnings, with 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, driven by salary adjustments and higher employee numbers. Consolidated earnings before taxes (EBT) stood at EUR 1.0 million, down from EUR 1.2 million, and net profit attributable to shareholders was EUR 0.7 million (previous year: EUR 0.8 million), resulting in earnings per share of EUR 0.05.
The company confirmed its full-year forecast for 2026/2027, expecting revenues between EUR 118 million and EUR 122 million and EBIT between EUR 10.0 million and EUR 12.0 million. The balance sheet remains stable, with total assets of EUR 107.2 million as of 30 June 2026, and equity attributable to shareholders increased to EUR 66.4 million.
The interim statement for the first quarter is available at www.bastei-luebbe.de. This performance underscores Bastei Lubbe's resilience and strategic positioning in a challenging market, as it continues to leverage both its established imprints and innovative business models to drive growth.
