Future Publishing Sees Profit Boost

Officials from UK based special-interest media group Future Publishing have revealed details of the company’s preliminary results for the year ended September 30th, 2007. Although the company saw revenues drop from £188.1 million ($388.7m) in 2006 to £165.7 million ($342.4m), pre-tax profits were up from a loss of £36.7 million ($75.8m) the previous year to a profit of £9.2 million ($19.0m) this year. Future continues to dominate the UK game magazine market, with titles including PC Gamer and Edge magazine, and also owns Future US, which now operates Official Xbox Magazine, Official PlayStation Magazine, and Nintendo Power in North America. It also runs notable game websites including GamesRadar.com. In a series of brief notes, the company highlighted the fact that online advertising had risen from 14 to 50 percent of all advertising revenues, with online games advertising up 55 percent at 28 percent of total games advertising revenues. During the year the company sold or closed over fifty under-performing magazines, helping to reduce net bank debt by 26 percent to £24.3 million ($50.2m). “The progress we have made in 2007 is very encouraging and has created a much firmer platform for future growth,” commented CEO Stevie Spring. “We did what we said we would do. “We have re-focused the business on its core and driven out costs, re-investing the savings in those parts of our business – online, core titles, U.S. expansion and partnership publishing – which offer opportunities for above market growth in both sales and margins,” she added. “We enter 2008 with a much healthier business, a stronger balance sheet and a re-invigorated team. We know there is more to do, but we are embracing the challenge with conviction, courage and confidence that Future is back on track,” concluded Spring.