Harry Potter publisher Bloomsbury's revenue, shares hit 10-year high

(Reuters) - Harry Potter publisher Bloomsbury Publishing Plc on Tuesday reported its highest annual revenue since 2007, when last of the seven-part original series written by J. K. Rowling was published, sending the company's shares to a 10-year high.

Nearly 21 years after its debut, the Harry Potter series continued to drive sales for Bloomsbury, with special editions of the boy wizard's adventures boosting demand.

In addition, the success of titles such as Tom Kerridge's 'Lose Weight For Good' and Sarah J. Maas' 'A Court of Wings and Ruin' also helped drive sales.

Shares of the London-based publisher were up 7.7 percent at 223 pence at 0802 GMT, their highest since February 2007.

Bloomsbury's revenue rose 13.3 percent to 161.5 million pounds ($217.3 million) in the year ended Feb. 28, the company said, surpassing the 150 million pounds in revenue it reported in 2007. Full-year pretax profit rose 10 percent to 13.2 million pounds.

Harry Potter sales jumped 31 percent, helped by special editions of 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone', 'Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban' and 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them'.

This helped boost revenue at Bloomsbury children's publishing division by 24 percent to 69.2 million pounds. Excluding Harry Potter, sales grew by 14 percent in the division.

($1 = 0.7433 pounds)

(Reporting By Justin George Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri)