Magazines group Future today swung back into the black and claimed digital could represent half of the business by 2015, when forecasters expect there to be a billion tablet devices around the world.
Chief executive Mark Wood said tablets are already bringing in new readers who hadn’t previously bought print and are willing to pay.
Future is now generating £600,000 a month from its magazines on Apple’s iPad, with 90% of sales going to new customers. Top title T3, its technology mag, is selling 30,000 a month. Wood said readers are also “snacking” on “shorter packages of content”. Whereas Future has always published monthly magazines in print, it is seeing demand for weekly digital titles.
The latest is tech. — a digital magazine with a mix of the week’s news and trends, some of which is effectively recycled from its website TechRadar.
While digital surged 30%, it still represents only one sixth of sales. Group turnover fell 13% to £123.5 million after the closure of some United States titles and declines in print.
Pre-tax profits were £1.1 million against an £18 million loss a year ago when there was a big write-off. Future won’t pay a dividend as it renegotiates its bank debts.
