Publishing group Future has returned to year-on-year organic revenue growth, which was up 1% to £788.2m in the year to 30 September.

The company said this was driven by a strong performance in H2, which saw revenue growth of 5%.

Despite Future’s revenue seeing growth, the group’s adjusted operating profit fell 13% to £222m million, and was down 11% at constant exchange rates.

Adjusted operating profit margin also slipped from 32% to 28%, reflecting investment from a previously announced growth acceleration strategy, which the publisher did say was in line with expectations.

Future, which publishes titles including Country Life, Marie Claire, and Four Four Two, launched its growth acceleration strategy in December 2023 to ensure it is positioned to “capitalise on future opportunities in its attractive and growing markets”.

This is a two-year investment programme of £25m-£30m to drive acceleration in a compounding model, which Future revealed had so far seen “good progress”.

Future’s chief executive, Jon Steinberg, said: “We launched our growth acceleration strategy one year ago and have made good strategic progress.

“We have invested in sales and editorial roles, successfully diversified and grown revenue per user, and we have further optimised our portfolio,” Future’s chief executive, Jon Steinberg, said. “Importantly, the group has returned to organic revenue growth during the year, underpinned by a strong H2 performance.

“The execution of our strategy combined with our strong financial characteristics, including a flexible cost base and highly cash generative profile, creates further optionality and positions the business well.”

Investment analyst at AJ Bell, Dan Coatsworth, commented that Future’s full-year results “don’t exactly paint a picture of a business in rude health”.

“Future’s business model is based upon creating engaging content that leads to the reader making a purchase, with the media group taking a commission on any transactions that have originated from clicking links in its articles,” Coatsworth added.

“Given the fragile backdrop for consumer spending, Future needs to work hard on new initiatives to keep driving clicks.

“While the shares have motored on today’s news, they still remain significantly down on Future’s halcyon days before interest rates shot up. It’s a long way to get back to previous peaks and the journey is unlikely to be a smooth one.”

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