(Alliance News) - Shares rose in Future PLC on Tuesday after it posted a more than doubled annual profit, leading the company to raise its guidance for its current financial year.
Shares in the magazine publisher were 15% higher at 3,680.00 pence on Tuesday in London, the best performer in the FTSE 250 index.
For the year ended September 30, Bath-based Future reported a pretax profit of GBP107.0 million, more than doubled from GBP52.0 million, driven by a favourable revenue mix, with further growth from digital advertising and e-commerce.
On an adjusted basis, pretax profit still more than doubled to GBP188.3 million from GBP90.9 million.
This was on revenue which surged 79% year-on-year to GBP606.8 million from GBP339.6 million. Media revenue rose 78% to GBP422.8 million, on growth in digital advertising through an increase in yield, and e-Commerce on an improved commission rate and conversion rate in the second half.
Meanwhile, Magazine revenue increased 80% to GBP184.0 million from GBP102.3 million, buoyed by the full year contribution of TI Media, which was acquired in April 2020 for GBP140 million.
Future said the revenue growth was driven by a combination of organic growth and acquisitions, alongside a 16% rise in online users.
Future declared a final dividend of 2.8 pence per share, up 75% from 1.6p the prior year.
Looking ahead, Future expects revenue growth to accelerate in the second half of its current financial year, as the group starts to transition from its Covid-19 boosted comparators.
In addition, with its platform effect driving further margin expansion, Future has raised its outlook for its 2022 financial year, expecting its adjusted results to be materially above current expectations.
"I am pleased to announce another set of exceptional results, which builds on our long-term track record of growth. Our performance reflects the diversity of our revenue streams and our global reach and the operating leverage of our business model," said Chief Executive Zillah Byng-Thorne.
"Looking ahead, we expect our diversified strategy to continue to deliver and are well-positioned to continue to grow strongly. As we transition from the Covid-19 boosted comparators, we expect the growth to accelerate in H2 next year. We expect our operating model to drive enhanced scalability and operating leverage, leading to further margin expansion, and we are therefore upgrading our outlook for the full year and now expect adjusted results in FY 2022 to be materially above current expectations," Byng-Thorne added.
By Dayo Laniyan; dayolaniyan@alliancenews.com
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Future (FUTR)