May 23, 2017

Future reports 375 per cent year-on-year increase in operating profit to £3.8m

Magazine publisher Future has reported adjusted operating profit up 375 per cent year on year to £3.8m for the six months to 31 March.

Overall, group revenue is up 35 per cent year on year to £41m, with revenue from e-commerce rising by 72 per cent year on year to £4m and events revenue up 15 per cent year on year to £3m.

The Total Film and PC Gamer publisher has seen the revenue from its media division climb by nearly one fifth to £16m to the end of March this year, up from £13m for the first six months of 2016.

In October, Future bought out the parent company of rival magazine publisher Imagine Publishing in a deal worth £16m, taking on a portfolio of 30 brands including Retro Gamer and SciFiNow magazines.

In January, it also bought back Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog magazines after the collapse of Team Rock, in a deal worth £800k.

Future has said the acquisition of Imagine and “strong UK performance in subscriptions” has driven up revenue from its magazine division by 45 per cent year on year to £25m.

It also listed other highlights from the media division, including:

Substantial online audience growth driven by “specialist content” with 53m online users in March, up 18 per cent year on year
“Strong organic revenue growth” in core brands with PCGamer.com up 81 per cent, GamesRadar+ up 40 per cent and T3.com up 72 per cent year on year
Increasing its portfolio of annual events to 17 with a boost in visitor numbers

Zillah Byng-Thorne, Future’s chief executive, said: “We have delivered another strong performance with substantial increases in both revenue and profitability, driven by organic growth and acquisition. We are seeing clear benefits from our operational gearing and we continue to focus on cash conversion.

“Our strategy to build a global scalable platform business for specialist media with data at its heart is gaining real momentum as we continue to diversify our revenue streams.

“The quality of our content – as a trusted destination for consumers and for our customers – allied with our market-leading and global super brands have driven further significant online audience growth.”

In its full-year financial results for 2016, Future recorded a boost in operating profit but an overall decline in group and magazine revenue.

Read Future’s first half interim results for 2017.

Topics in this article : Future PLC