Future shares soar following strong start to trading year

Media platform operator Future now expects to post first-half results "significantly ahead" of expectations after strong momentum witnessed in its first quarter carried over into the second.

Future, which organises events and publishes FourFourTwo, What Hifi, TechRadar, Gizmodo and Total Film, saw a "positive performance" in audience numbers within the media side of its business, leading to strong revenue conversion in both ecommerce and digital display advertising over the first four months of its trading year.

The London-listed outfit told investors that while a "great deal of uncertainty remains from the macro-economic environment in terms of H2 outcome", the strong trading experienced in the first four months of its financial year meant the board was now confident Future's full-year outcome would be "significantly ahead of market expectations".

As of 1240 GMT, Future shares had shot up 18.25% to 674p.