Future profit slumps 70%

Specialist magazine publisher Future revealed a hefty drop in half year pre-tax profit and despite being cautious about second half trading, says its on track for the full year. The group, which publishes cycling and computing magazines, said first half pre-tax profit fell to £1.2m from £4.1m a year ago. Revenue for the period dropped 2% to £76.6m. Results were hurt by weaker advertising revenue in the US and an unexpected disruption to distribution of US newsstand magazines following a dispute among wholesalers and distributors in the US magazine market. While this had "a significant impact during February and March, it is now largely behind us," the company explained in a company statement. "Our outlook for the second half must remain cautious, but we are still on course to meet expectations for the full year," the group added. Its UK business, which comprises 68% of group revenue, reported improved EBITA of £7.4m in the first six months of 2009, despite a 6% revenue decline.An interim dividend of 0.4p per share has been recommended, compared with 0.5p per share a year ago. Future