Future: Marie Claire and Country Life publisher returns to growth as mags continue to sell
Shares in Future climbed nearly 14 per cent on Thursday morning after the media group said it returned to revenue growth in its second quarter as its Go Compare price comparison site and magazine business performed better than expected.
The London-listed company said its sales improved in the first half of the year thanks to the “resilient performance” of magazines under the Future brand, including Marie Claire, Homes & Gardens, and Who What Wear.
It also experienced growth in B2B, although some of the success was offset by wider economic headwinds, which hit its affiliate products and digital advertising revenue streams.
Despite magazines proving popular, website users still declined year-on-year, the company said.
Future is currently pushing ahead with a ‘growth acceleration strategy’, launched at the end of last year, in a bid to revive its weak stock price which is down 46 per cent over the past year. It has created three business units: B2C, Go Compare and B2B.
“The reorganisation will make the Group more agile and less complex, enabling faster execution of the strategy to deliver improved growth,” Future said.
The British company is on track to hit expectations for its full financial year, subject to foreign exchange rates, it added in an update to markets on Thursday.
Future has previously guided to low single-digit revenue growth at the end of 2024.
In February, the FTSE 250 stock reported improved revenue in its first quarter but did not provide any figures. Profits were down nearly a fifth to £138m at the end of last year.
AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould said today’s announcement will give shareholders some much-needed relief.
He said: “The company’s GoCompare price comparison site, which was seen as an odd fit when acquired in 2021, has provided some useful diversification at a time when advertising markets are difficult.
“Future built its success on buying up specialist magazine titles cheaply and plugging them into its existing platform in order to generate revenue from their content and brands through a mix of digital advertising, e-commerce and getting readers to click through to partnered retailers and events. However, a downturn in both marketing expenditure and the number of users on its various websites have thrown a spanner in the works.
“The company is seen as a victim of AI as there is an increasing risk people just use ChatGPT to ask about various topics rather than search for articles on Google – resulting in a drop in traffic to its sites.
“It is encouraging to see the company investing in its strongest brands and this appears to be having some benefit in terms of direct digital advertising in the US,” Mould added.