Once again, acquisitions and product diversification have propelled publisher Future (FUTR) to greater heights. An impressive 62 per cent growth in the media business (which encompasses online publishing, events and ecommerce) more than offset advertising stagnation in the magazine business, meaning adjusted cash profits were nearly twice those reported last year at £8.8m. But in an age when the internet provides endless amounts of free content and trends are worryingly fickle, the big question is whether this impressive growth can be maintained.
Chief executive Zillah Byng-Thorne – who has pioneered the new strategy – is reassuringly confident. The recent acquisitions of Newbay Media and four specialist titles from Haymarket should boost revenues in the coming year, as should cross selling products across the different business segments.
Moreover, sales are swaying towards the media business, where gross margins are 85 per cent, which means profits should accelerate faster than revenues. Indeed, between 2017 and 2019, broker Numis expects revenues to rise 35 per cent to £114m, while pre-tax profits are forecast to nearly double to £16.2m. In the year to September 2018 pre-tax profits and EPS are forecast at £14.1m and 23.6p respectively (2017: £8.3m and 21p).
| FUTURE (FUTR) | ||||
| ORD PRICE: | 484p | MARKET VALUE: | £ 223m | |
| TOUCH: | 483-487p | 12-MONTH HIGH / LOW: | 495p | 178p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | NA | PE RATIO: | 54 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 143p* | NET DEBT: | 3% | |
| Half-year to 31 Mar | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
| 2017 | 40.9 | 0.9 | 2.8 | nil |
| 2018 | 51.1 | 3.3 | 7.4 | nil |
| % change | +25 | +267 | +164 | - |
| Ex-div: | na | |||
| Payment: | na | |||
| *Includes intangible assets of £89.8m, or 195p a share | ||||
