Shares in Future PLC (LSE:FUTR) rose 3% on Thursday after the specialist media company reaffirmed it is on track to meet market forecasts for annual profit, despite ongoing weakness in parts of the advertising market.
In a pre-close update for the year to September 30, the London-listed publisher said organic revenue performance was broadly in line with expectations. Adjusted operating profit is set to match consensus estimates.
In its consumer-facing business, direct digital advertising grew in the second half in both the US and UK, offsetting a continued soft patch in programmatic advertising. Affiliate e-commerce revenue fell as audience numbers dipped, while magazine sales held steady.
Comparison site Go.Compare saw performance cool after a strong 2024, reflecting softer demand in car and home insurance, though improved platform efficiency boosted conversion.
On the business-to-business side, trading remained subdued, with weakness in enterprise technology partly offset by stronger verticals elsewhere.
Future said its financial profile remains “attractive,” with healthy margins and cash generation.
The group will host an investor webinar on September 26 to showcase new product initiatives aimed at scaling its platform and diversifying revenue streams.
Panmure Liberum described the update as 'positive' and noted that the share price valuation was 'very low'.
The stock, down by a third in the last year, rose by 17.5p to 692.5p in early trading.