Specialist consumer publisher Future has reported circulation revenue down four per cent and advertising down 13 per cent in the first quarter.
In a trading update, the publisher of titles such as Total Film, Classic Rock and T3 said business had been “challenging” with revenue for the period down 12 per cent year on year to £36m.
The UK accounts for two thirds of turnover with most of the rest coming from the US.
The one growth area for the business was customer publishing, where the company said revenues were up 10 per cent.
Subscriptions for the January launch edition of computer game magazine World of Warcraft were 30 per cent ahead of forecast, the company said.
Future is under more pressure in the US where circulation was down 13 per cent year on year and advertising revenue down 32 per cent.
In a cautious summary of the outlook for the business, Future said: “Although the broader macro-economic outlook indicates that both the US and UK are pulling slowly out of recession, and there are some signs of a return of confidence, projected growth rates are very low and advertising budgets remain soft against a fierce competitive backdrop which is putting pressure on yields.”
Future owns 180 special interest publications, websites and events. It sells nearly four million magazines a month claims to reach 27 million unique visitors a month via its websites.
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