Financial Times' profit grows as ad revenues rise

by Daniel Farey-Jones, Brand Republic 31-Jul-06, 09:00

LONDON - An 11% increase in ad revenues at the Financial Times has taken the paper further into the black, with a profit of £5m on revenue of £119m during the first half of 2006.

In the first half of last year, it made a loss of £2m but turned this into a £2m profit for the whole year.

The latest results confirm the improving picture at the paper, which is owned by publisher Pearson. The paper has been in the red since 2003.

There was more than 20% growth in online advertising, a level matched by the performance of financial and luxury goods advertising across the group.

The number of subscribers to FT.com was 86,000 in June, up 11% year on year. This was greater than the print edition's six-month average circulation growth of 4.7% to 446,786 year on year.

The paper's management recently announced plans to further integrate its print and online editorial teams.

Around 15% of Pearson's revenues come from the Financial Times Group, which includes the paper, FT Deutschland and The Economist, as well as other specialist financial titles and events and data company Interactive Data Corporation.

The FT Group's profit was up 25% year-on-year to £55m and revenues were up 12% to £344m.

Pearson's other business areas, Penguin book publishing and educational publishing, also improved.

The group as a whole made first-half revenues of £1.88bn, up 16%. Its statutory pre-tax profit figure was £25m, down 48%, but it provided an adjusted profit figure of £73m, up 57%.

Marjorie Scardino, Pearson chief executive, said: "These results provide further evidence of the quality and potential of our business. All parts of Pearson are making strong progress, and our steady investment in new content and services is paying off with sustained organic growth."

The stock market reacted positively to the results and a 5% increase in the interim dividend, sending Pearson shares up 1.95% to 733.5p in early trading.

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