Magazines group Future signals 'inflection point' as profits soar on digital revenue

Magazines group Future claimed to have passed a “inflection point” as more than half of its advertising now comes from digital, with growth from new revenue streams offsetting declines in print over the first half.

The publisher of technology website TechRadar and gadget magazine T3 generated 59 per cent of ad sales from digital in the year to September. Revenues also doubled from content marketing, which involves creating content for clients such as Microsoft for today’s Xbox launch.

Group like-for-like revenues rose 3 per cent to £106.9 million and pre-tax profits rose fourfold to £5.8 million, allowing chief executive Mark Wood and new chief finanical officer Zillah Byng-Maddick to bring back the dividend for the first time in two years. Wood credited a “fast-fail” approach to digital as Future launches things quickly and “if they don’t work, cancel them”. Shares rose nearly 5 per cent.