Harry Potter publisher Bloomsbury said today that unprecedented demand for the latest JK Rowling novel would drive profits to a new high this year as it revealed the author had already started writing the next instalment.
Bloomsbury, which yesterday said it was suing an American newspaper for £65m for publishing details of the eagerly awaited fifth instalment including the main plot line ahead of its midnight launch tonight, said demand from booksellers on both sides of the Atlantic was intense.
"On the basis of sales of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix to the UK and international book trade for the launch at one minute past midnight tonight, the board of Bloomsbury Publishing plc now expects that its pre-tax, pre-goodwill profit for the year ended 31 December 2003 will be not less than £15 million," the company said in a statement.
Bloomsbury is printing around 13m copies of The Order of the Phoenix in order to cash in on the unprecedented level of Pottermania. The first four Harry Potter books have sold 195 million copies in almost 200 countries.
In the UK some stores will be opening at midnight tonight, while in the US Walmart is offering Harry Potter cakes and Toys 'R' Us has created special in-store Harry Potter boutiques.
Stores are also increasing stocks of Harry Potter DVDs, toys and other merchandise in an attempt to improve what for many will be wafer-thin margins on the book. The most eagerly awaited book this year is coming to market heavily discounted.
WH Smith will be selling the book for £11.99 and Amazon for £11.24, well below its list price of £16.99. Supermarket chains are expected to come in lower than that.
Although details of the book were yesterday revealed by the New York Daily News and then spread widely on the internet, Bloomsbury declined to comment on whether this might have a negative impact on sales.
In the UK Bloomsbury issued an injunction against the press preventing newspapers from publishing details from the book, after several thousand books were stolen earlier this month.
Ms Rowling's agent, Christopher Little, said the author had already started writing "Harry 6", as it is known in the book trade. "Bloomsbury have contractual rights but there are no delivery deadlines," he said.
Analysts said the trading statement was more upbeat than anticipated. It had expected Bloomsbury to post profits of around £13.5m. Last year the company, which is also home to authors Donna Tartt and Joanna Trollope, posted profits before exceptional items of £11.2m.
In 1998, the first trading year after the release of the first Harry Potter novel, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, in June 1997, Bloomsbury's profits were just £2.7m.
The last in the series, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, became the fastest selling book of all time when it went on sale three years ago.
· To give MediaGuardian a story email editor@mediatheguardian.com or phone 020 7239 9857
