Bastei Lubbe AG, the Cologne-based general-interest publishing group listed in the Prime Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (ISIN DE000A1X3YY0), delivered a notable profitability improvement in the second quarter of its 2026/2027 financial year, even as revenues declined as expected. The company's EBIT margin widened to 8.4 percent in the quarter, up from 4.4 percent in the previous quarter, a signal that cost adjustments and product-mix management are taking hold despite a soft book market.
For the half-year period from April to September 2026, Group revenues totalled EUR 55.2 million, slightly below the prior-year figure. Group EBIT came in at EUR 3.7 million, an EBIT margin of 6.6 percent. The revenue decline was attributed to the absence of top-selling blockbuster titles that had boosted the same period a year earlier, compounded by a German book market that continues to lack momentum.
CEO Soheil Dastyari framed the result as evidence of resilience: "The further progress we made in terms of profitability in the second quarter is, precisely because of the persistently challenging market conditions, a strong sign of our business resilience and a further important step on our path to sustainable growth." The company also confirmed its market leadership in key segments such as Young Adult, New Adult and Community Editions, even as the "Book" segment generated revenues of EUR 51.6 million, down from EUR 53.4 million, and segment EBIT fell to EUR 3.2 million from EUR 5.4 million.
The "Novel Booklets" segment posted revenues of EUR 3.5 million, slightly below the prior year's EUR 3.6 million, with segment EBIT of EUR 0.4 million. Community-driven business models accounted for 27 percent of revenues, nearly unchanged from 28 percent a year earlier, while digital products represented 32 percent of revenues, down from 34 percent.
Cost of materials fell to EUR 29.1 million from EUR 29.9 million, reflecting the revenue performance, product mix and ongoing production-cost adjustments expected to yield further benefits in coming quarters. Personnel expenses rose to EUR 11.9 million from EUR 11.2 million, mainly due to changes in salary structure. Group earnings before taxes reached EUR 3.6 million, and consolidated net profit attributable to shareholders was EUR 2.4 million, or EUR 0.18 per share, compared with EUR 3.9 million and EUR 0.30 a year earlier.
Total Group assets stood at EUR 113.1 million as of 30 September 2026, up from EUR 109.0 million at 31 March 2026, largely on higher author advances. Equity attributable to parent-company shareholders was EUR 64.8 million, EUR 0.9 million lower than at 31 March 2026, mainly due to a EUR 3.3 million dividend distribution.
Operationally, Bastei Lubbe pointed to strong demand at the Frankfurt Book Fair in early October 2026, where it hosted authors on its own stage for the first time and saw numerous titles sell out. The company also announced a new imprint, LIV, launching next spring to publish romance novels for readers in their late twenties and older, extending its LYX and New Adult franchise. It highlighted innovative formats such as shelfie.audio, Papertoons and LYX International as positioning it to capture continued demand for compelling stories.
Despite that momentum, the Executive Board adjusted its full-year forecast, now expecting Group revenues of EUR 114-118 million, compared with the earlier EUR 118-122 million range and prior-year revenues of EUR 118.4 million. Group EBIT is now guided at EUR 9-11 million, down from the earlier EUR 10-12 million forecast, though the company expects EBIT to remain stable or increase on a wider margin as cost measures are stepped up. The half-yearly report is available at www.bastei-luebbe.de, and further information can be found at https://bastei-luebbe.de.
