Future says annual profit to beat expectations

Future said annual results would be well ahead of market expectations after profit more than doubled in the first half.

Pretax profit for the six months to the end of March rose 110% to a record £56.9m from a year earlier as revenue increased 89% to £272.6m. Adjusted operating profit rose 124% to £89.2m, the media company said.

The FTSE 250 group's shares rose more than 10% in early trading to a more than 20-year high.

Future publishes Country Life and What Hi-Fi? in the UK and recently announced the purchase of Marie Claire in the US. It said TI Media and GoCo, both acquired in the past 13 months, performed well in the first half.

"I am delighted to report the ongoing successful execution of our strategy with record revenue and profit in this half, materially ahead of market expectations," Chief Executive Zillah Byng-Thorne said. "Whilst we remain cautious about the wider macroeconomic uncertainties associated with Covid-19, we are confident in the outlook for the group and expect the full year to be materially ahead of market expectations, underpinned by an exceptional H1 performance."

Future shares rose 10.2% to £26.38 at 08:19 BST - the shares highest price since 2000.