Publisher maintains growth strategy despite ‘challenging’ UK market
Specialist media group Future is making cautious progress on its growth acceleration strategy, hampered by a “challenging” advertising market in the UK.
Performance in the first four months of its financial year has the Marie Claire and The Week publisher “on track” to meet market expectations or revenues being between £758m-£785m.
The growth plans have been backed by a two-year, £30m investment programme which has added 100 staff across sales, editorial and back office.
Future’s chief executive Jon Steinberg, who is standing down in March to return home to the USA after two years, said: “After our return to growth in the second half of last year, our focus for this year is on the continued execution of our Growth Acceleration Strategy.
“We are pleased with the start to the new financial year and, whilst we remain mindful of the macro backdrop and the ongoing evolution of the media landscape, we are confident about making further progress and delivering a performance in line with market expectations.”
Kevin Li Ying, Future
Steinberg’s replacement as chief executive, Kevin Li Ying, is currently EVP of B2C, the group’s largest division, and previously spent eight years as its chief technology officer.
Li Ying’s B2C division saw a continuation of the improvement in US digital advertising and eCommerce, with both areas recording year-on-year growth. However it said the market in B2B remains “mixed”.
Magazines have remained more resilient, led by premium titles, whilst the UK advertising market continues to be challenging.
Future told shareholders that its £55m share buyback programme announced in December is “progressing well” with just under £10m repurchased to date.
