Media group Future shares jump as it hikes profit forecasts
Shares in Future pushed higher this morning after the magazine publisher said it expected its full-year profit to be “materially” ahead of market expectations.
The media group, which owns titles such as Country Life, Four Four Two and Tech Radar, today said it had continued to perform strongly in the second half despite challenges posed by the pandemic.
Future said its media division had enjoyed robust digital advertising revenue as well as growth in its ecommerce product affiliate revenue, including Prime Day in June.
Its magazines division performed in line with expectations, largely due to soft comparators at the height of the pandemic last year.
In May the company snapped up the US edition of Marie Claire — a move it said would increase its monthly reach by 30m users.
London-listed Future added that the integration of Go Compare, which it bought for £600m last year, was progressing well and that it was on track to make savings of £15m.
Future said its cash generation was strong and forecast full-year profit materially ahead of current forecasts, despite ongoing uncertainty.
William Ryder, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said an increased dividend “shouldn’t be ruled out, especially with the group talking up cash generation and synergies from the GoCo acquisition”.
“However, the acquisition focussed growth strategy will still demand more investment, so any additional shareholder returns will likely be modest.”
Chief executive Zillah Byng-Thorne said: “We are delighted that the group’s strong performance has continued throughout the period, which is testament to the strength of our diversified revenue streams and global reach.”