Future returns to profit under turnaround plan

Magazine publisher Future has returned to profit in the first six months of the year, with chief executive Stevie Spring claiming her turnaround strategy is working. Better than expected online revenues and restructuring benefits have helped the consumer publisher’s fortunes.

It has announced pre-tax profits for the six months to March 31 of £8.6m and says predicted online revenues have been “surpassed”. In the same period a year earlier, Future made a pre-tax loss of £1.6m and ended with a loss of £49m for the who financial year. Revenues from online advertising grew 66% year-on-year and those from customer publishing grew 59%.

Former Clear Channel UK head Spring, who joined in July last year, says the focus is back in the group and it is moving in the right direction.

She said: “We have stabilised revenues and improved margins to fund investment for our future revenue streams.”
Future has also appointed Sep Bishop the president of online ad network Miva and chairman of search marketing specialist Steak Media, as a non-executive director.

Spring quit as chief executive of Clear Channel UK in January last year after six years at the outdoor group. The former advertising agency executive started her career with Woollams Moira Gaskin O’Malley, serving an eight year period at Young & Rubicam.