Future Increases Focus on Digital After 'Disappointing' Results
US print sector blamed for £19m loss.
Future Publishing is going to have a bit of a rocky Christmas. The print house, responsible for an assortment of game titles including the official Nintendo, Xbox and PlayStation magazines, has posted a £19.3m loss for the year ending September, and is holding off on paying dividends to shareholders as a result.
The dramatic plunge follows a £5.5m profit in 2010. Future's chief executive, Mark Wood, pins the blame on its performance in the US - it fell from a profit of $300,000 to a $5.6m loss this year, while the UK has proved to be "resilient" due to its growth in digital revenue.
It seems that the future of Future lies in a place where many traditional print media companies have been too scared to tread - the online and digital space. Indeed, Future's digital growth of 36% has reportedly offset the decline of income from print. No doubt this will be where the company's focus will lie with immediate effect.
"Future delivered disappointing results for the past year," Wood explains. "While the UK business showed resilience in challenging conditions, the US operations tipped back into loss, pulling down the group's overall final results.
"We are migrating the US business to a predominantly digital model and have taken steps to de-risk remaining print properties," the company added. It announced plans to introduce a "dividend holiday" to allow it to recover, following an increase in loans from £7.4m to £11.8m.
The dramatic plunge follows a £5.5m profit in 2010. Future's chief executive, Mark Wood, pins the blame on its performance in the US - it fell from a profit of $300,000 to a $5.6m loss this year, while the UK has proved to be "resilient" due to its growth in digital revenue.
It seems that the future of Future lies in a place where many traditional print media companies have been too scared to tread - the online and digital space. Indeed, Future's digital growth of 36% has reportedly offset the decline of income from print. No doubt this will be where the company's focus will lie with immediate effect.
"Future delivered disappointing results for the past year," Wood explains. "While the UK business showed resilience in challenging conditions, the US operations tipped back into loss, pulling down the group's overall final results.
"We are migrating the US business to a predominantly digital model and have taken steps to de-risk remaining print properties," the company added. It announced plans to introduce a "dividend holiday" to allow it to recover, following an increase in loans from £7.4m to £11.8m.
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Comments
Jimmer 26 Nov 2011 10:10
1/2
No xmas party this year. Loffles.
Jimmer 26 Nov 2011 10:14
2/2
Funny thing is that the online threat to print sales has been pretty f**king obvious from the late 90s, yet still Fewtch haven't got a decent games website.
I wonder how much successive CEOs have been paid to miss the obvious... At least they all made off like thieves after the company was floated (then promptly sunk).
"Tonight we're gonna party like they're nine pounds ninety-nine"
Insider trading lolz.
I wonder how much successive CEOs have been paid to miss the obvious... At least they all made off like thieves after the company was floated (then promptly sunk).
"Tonight we're gonna party like they're nine pounds ninety-nine"
Insider trading lolz.