Hearst gets a digital lift

Company spokesman toasts 'positive and interesting story'

Hearst have seen pre-tax profits to triple to £17.4 million last year (Getty Images)

The glossy magazine publisher behind Harper’s Bazaar, Esquire and Good Housekeeping today credited its embrace of digital for helping pre-tax profits to triple to £17.4 million last year.

Leaving aside exceptionals, operating profits still climbed by a third at Hearst’s UK arm, with turnover up 3.4 per cent at £335.6 million. Hearst publishes 19 digital editions of its magazines, and 10 grew at double-digit rates in the last year.

The group has also increased in size, after its purchase of Hachette Filipacchi titles including Red in 2011. But it has offloaded some magazines including Prima Baby and Coast. Staff numbers rose to 1168 at Soho-based Hearst.

“The transformation of our business post-integration to a media-neutral, digitally led company is creating a positive and interesting story for Hearst UK,” said a spokesman.

Hearst’s arch-rival, Condé Nast, reported a 40 per cent drop in pre-tax profit to £10.4 million at its UK arm last week.