Future PLC (LSE:FUTR), the media group, said it expects growth to accelerate in the second half of the current fiscal year as it raised full-year expectations.
The company issued results for the year to the end of September 2021 that largely confirmed the guidance given in October’s update.
Revenue rose 79% to £606.8mln from £339.6mln the year before, while profit before tax more than doubled to £107.8mlnfrom £52.0mln. On a like-for-like basis, revenue was up 23%, with the first half seeing growth of 21% and the second half 26%.
The US saw organic revenue growth of 27% from the year before, which the publisher said demonstrated early momentum from the execution of its US strategy for its TI Media division. The group said it is confident of its ability to capitalise on the opportunity in North America, to further strengthen and diversify its revenue streams.
UK organic revenue growth looked pale in comparison at 17%, which Future said reflected a weighting towards events and magazines revenue, both of which have been hit by lockdown restrictions.
Cash generated from operations shot up 115% to £197.2mln from £91.9mln the previous year.
The proposed dividend for the year is 2.8p per share, up from 1.6p in the prior year.
"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 Zillah Byng-Thorne, the fabulously well-remunerated chief executive of Future.
“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 said.
Shares in Future were up 15% at 3,660p in early deals.