5 February 2025
Future plc
Trading
Update
Trading in line with
expectations
Future plc (LSE: FUTR; "Future" or
"the Group"), the global platform for specialist media, today
announces a trading update covering the four-month period ended 31
January 2025.
Overall Group performance in the
first four months has been as expected with the Group on track to
achieve market expectations for FY 20251.
In B2C, the improvement we saw in US
digital advertising and eCommerce in H2 2024 has continued, with
both areas recording year-on-year growth, with broadly stable
audience sessions performance. Magazines have remained more
resilient, led by premium titles, whilst the UK advertising market
continues to be challenging. After a standout FY 2024, performance
of Go.Compare has moderated, reflecting the expected slow-down in
the car insurance switching market. We have continued the
diversification into other categories such as home insurance which
are delivering good growth. The market in B2B remains mixed, with
enterprise technology remaining soft whilst we have seen good
progress in other verticals.
Whilst continuing to make good
progress executing its Growth Acceleration Strategy, the Group is
also maintaining its strong financial characteristics with an
attractive margin and strong cash generation. As part of our
capital allocation policy, the £55m share buyback programme
announced on 5 December 2024 is progressing well with just under
£10m repurchased to date.
Jon
Steinberg, Chief Executive Officer, 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."
Future will announce its half-year
results on 16 May 2025.
1 Company-compiled consensus for FY 2025: Revenue of £776.9m
(with a range of £758.5m to £785.4m) and Adjusted Operating Profit
of £217.8m (with a range of £197.3m to £223.0m)
Enquiries
Future plc
Jon Steinberg, Chief Executive
Officer
+44 (0)1225
442244
Sharjeel Suleman, Chief Financial
Officer
Marion Le Bot, Head of Investor
Relations
+44(0)7775 641509
Media
Headland
+44 (0) 20 3805 4822
Stephen Malthouse, Rob Walker,
Charlie Twigg
future@headlandconsultancy.com
Legal Entity Identifier (LEI):
213800K2581YRLEXV353
About Future
We are the platform for creating and
distributing trusted, specialist content, to build engaged and
valuable global communities. We operate c.200 brands in diversified
content verticals, with multiple market leading positions and three
core monetisation frameworks: advertising, eCommerce affiliate and
direct consumer monetisation (subscriptions and newstrade magazine
sale). Our content is published and distributed through a range of
formats including websites, email newsletters, videos, magazines
and live events. The successful execution of our strategy is
focused on three pillars: grow engaged audience, diversify and grow
revenue per user and optimise the portfolio.
