- Country Life publishing house was founded by TED Talks curator Chris Anderson
- Future’s pre-tax profits fell 30% in the six months ended March
Buyback: Marie Claire British publisher Future has unveiled a new share buyback program
Future shares rose by almost a fifth on Thursday after the magazine company announced plans for a new £45m share buyback.
Shares in the Bath-based company rose 19.4 per cent to £10.39 by late Thursday afternoon, taking gains since the start of the year to around a third.
British publisher Country Life and Marie Claire, founded by TED Talks curator Chris Anderson, recently completed a share buyback program of similar size that was launched last August.
It announced the buyback alongside results that showed pre-tax profits fell 30 percent to £46.6 million in the six months ended March.
It blamed the decline in investment on the “growth acceleration strategy” – a two-year plan aimed at boosting media sales – and an “unfavorable revenue mix”.
Total revenue fell 3 percent to £391.5 million due to adverse currency movements, a tougher digital advertising market and lower subscriptions to print magazines.
Yet organic sales in the UK grew by a similar percentage, partly due to strong demand for car insurance among GoCompare customers.
Future’s overall organic revenue also rebounded in the second quarter with growth, even as U.S. connected product purchases continued to be hit by subdued consumer sentiment.
Jon Steinberg, who replaced Zillah Byng-Thorne as CEO in April 2023, noted that this progress continued in the third quarter.
He added: ‘Our focus for the remainder of the year is on further implementing the growth acceleration strategy, with a particular focus on optimizing the portfolio and accelerating value creation for shareholders.’
Under the strategy, Future will invest between £25 million and £30 million to ensure it is ‘well positioned to take advantage of future opportunities in its attractive and growing markets.’
The program has three core pillars: expanding the company’s audience, diversifying and growing revenue per user, and optimizing its portfolio.
Future manages more than 230 brands, ranging from MoneyWeek and Total Film magazines to discount platform MyVoucherCodes and price comparison website GoCompare.
Analysts at Deutsche Bank said: ‘We continue to view Future shares as standout value, believe the business is under cyclical rather than structural pressures and will benefit from both significant self-help and macro recovery in the UK and US.’