Trading Statement

Future PLC

04 April 2024

 

4 April 2024

Future plc

Trading statement

Future plc (LSE: FUTR; "Future" or "the Group"), the global platform for specialist media, today announces a post-close trading for the six months ended 31 March 2024.

The expected revenue improvement to the Q4 2023 exit rate has continued, resulting in a return to organic revenue growth in Q2 for the Group.

The return to growth has been driven by a strong performance in Go.Compare, alongside good growth in B2B, and a resilient performance in Magazines. This has been offset by a more challenging performance in affiliate products and digital advertising as macroeconomic pressures and low visibility continue to impact the wider sector. Website users' broad stabilisation has continued in Q2 but remains in year-on-year decline. Importantly, the implementation of the Growth Acceleration Strategy (GAS), as outlined at full-year results in December 2023, is underway, with encouraging progress from the Hero brands, which continue to outperform the wider brand portfolio. This has been combined with a stronger performance in US direct advertising, a key strategic initiative, driven by the continued focus on premiumisation of advertising inventory benefiting from the Group's scale and first-party data.

In February, the Group announced a reorganisation to accelerate the Growth Acceleration Strategy, with the creation of three business units to enhance our offer to audiences and partners: B2C, Go.Compare and B2B. The reorganisation will make the Group more agile and less complex enabling faster execution of the strategy to deliver improved growth.

The Group is highly cash generative and cash conversion in the half has been strong.

As a result, the Group is on-track to deliver on expectations for FY 2024, subject to impact of foreign exchange translation.

Future will announce its half-year results on 16 May 2024.

Enquiries

Future plc

Jon Steinberg, Chief Executive Officer               [phone]

Penny Ladkin-Brand, Chief Financial Officer

Marion Le Bot, Head of Investor Relations          [phone]

Media

Headland                                                                      [phone]

Stephen Malthouse, Rob Walker, Charlie Twigg

[e-mail]

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.230 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.

 

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