Cambridge University Press reports sales growth

In a year characterised by digital developments and significant back office investment, the Press achieved sales of £263.4m, an increase of 5 per cent at constant currency rates from the same period in 2013, and a pre-tax operating surplus of £8.0m.

With some 90 per cent of the Press’s sales originating from customers based outside the UK, the Press has continued to see strong underlying growth across Latin America, Southeast Asia, China, South Africa, Australia and Spain, all delivered against a background of continued economic challenges in many markets.

Digital revenues continued to rise, with e-book sales growing by almost a third on the previous year. Throughout 2013/14, the Press has launched a host of innovative digital products across its Academic, Education and English Language Teaching operations. This included the massive open online course (MOOC) for GCSE Computing, launched in partnership with Cambridge Assessment’s OCR exam board and RaspberryPi, and The Cambridge Edition of the Works of Ben Jonson Online, a vast digital archive representing 15 years of the most meticulous scholarship uniquely available as a digital product. 

The English Language Group has seen significant underlying growth over the past 12 months with particular success in Latin America, Asia and Spain, driven by exceptionally strong growth in Schools and Exams. Highlights of the year include the first ever fully interactive e-books for Complete IELTS 4-5, The Official Cambridge Guide to IELTS, the first-ever official Cambridge publication for IELTS, and the release of Unlock, our new four-level course launched in March 2014 at TESOL Arabia.

This financial year also saw continued investment in the renewal of the Press’s back-office systems. This major investment programme is giving the Press faster and deeper business information and is helping to introduce new products and business models more quickly.

Chief Executive Peter Phillips said: "Our continued commitment to quality and innovation have paid dividends this year. In spite of unfavorable currency movements, we have seen sales grow with particularly strong expansion in English Language Teaching and Education. As we move into an exciting and challenging new publishing age, we are investing heavily to ensure that the Press is in the strongest position to succeed in the rapidly evolving global and digital world."