Future lifts expectations as TI Media integration pays off

(Sharecast News) - Specialist media company Future updated its guidance on the integration of TI Media on Monday, saying £10m in synergies had already been secured, of which at least £3m would benefit the 2020 financial year.
The FTSE 250 firm said that as a result, it now expected cost synergies of £20m per annum by the end of 2021, ahead of earlier forecasts of £15m.

It had said in July that the company was continuing to benefit from the trend in a shift to digital media.

In August, organic unique visitors in the UK and US were up 25% and 40% respectively, compared to the prior year.

Combined with a better-than-expected performance of TI Media in the second half, full-year adjusted operating profit was now expected to be "materially ahead" of current market expectations.

In addition, as a result of continued strong cash conversion the business is de-levering quickly.

The board said the integration of TI Media remained on track, with the group continuing to make "good" progress.

Following on from the three websites launched earlier in the summer, Advnture.com and Petsradar.com - both new websites in TI Media's content verticals - had now gone live.

The firm said it had also successfully migrated both the finance and the magazine subscription systems onto common platforms.

"We are delighted the strong group performance has continued, putting Future on track to deliver full-year results materially ahead of expectations," said chief executive officer Zillah Byng-Thorne.

"Whilst macro uncertainty remains in light of the pandemic, we are well positioned to benefit from the continued shift to digital media as we grow our global audiences."

Future said it was expecting to publish its full-year results for the year ending 30 September on 2 December.

At 0850 BST, shares in Future were up 17.48% at 1,708.1p.