Bastei Lubbe AG, a leading German publishing group, announced a revenue increase for the first quarter of its 2026/2027 financial year, continuing its growth trajectory despite persistent market headwinds. For the period from April to June 2026, group revenues reached EUR 24.6 million, up from EUR 22.9 million in the same period last year. Group EBIT stood at EUR 1.1 million, translating into an EBIT margin of 4.4%.
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 performance was particularly buoyed by strong sales in its traditional book formats, with the community-driven business models accounting for 24% of revenues in the quarter, down from 31% a year earlier. Digital products contributed 35% to revenues, compared to 38% in the prior-year period.
The 'Book' segment, which includes the new 'Pfaueninsel' imprint and the established 'Lübbe' imprint, generated revenues of EUR 22.9 million, up from EUR 21.4 million. The success was driven by top releases such as 'Traume aus Feuer' by Florian Illies, a SPIEGEL bestseller that frequently reached the top ten, and 'Kein Sommer ohne August' by Lucy Astner, which remained a fixture on the SPIEGEL bestseller list. Additionally, the paperback edition of Ken Follett's 'The Armour of Light' and Eva Almstadt's crime thriller 'Akte Nordsee – Die letzte Predigt' contributed to the segment's robust performance. Segment EBIT for the Book segment was EUR 1.0 million, slightly lower than the EUR 1.2 million reported in the same quarter of the previous 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 from EUR 0.0 million. However, overall profitability was affected by higher costs. Cost of materials rose to EUR 12.4 million from EUR 10.6 million, primarily due to increased printing costs for upcoming releases. Personnel expenses also increased to EUR 6.1 million from EUR 5.7 million, reflecting scheduled salary adjustments and a higher number of employees after filling vacant positions.
Consolidated earnings before taxes (EBT) amounted to EUR 1.0 million in the first quarter, down from EUR 1.2 million in the prior year. Net profit attributable to shareholders was EUR 0.7 million, compared to EUR 0.8 million, resulting in earnings per share of EUR 0.05 (previous year: EUR 0.06). As of June 30, 2026, total group assets were EUR 107.2 million, slightly down from EUR 109.0 million at the end of March 2026. Equity attributable to shareholders increased to EUR 66.4 million from EUR 65.7 million.
Looking ahead, Bastei Lubbe AG 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 company noted that profitability has already improved noticeably since the fourth quarter of 2025/2026, approaching its target. The interim statement for the first three months of the 2026/2027 financial year is available at www.bastei-luebbe.de.
