Future, the Bath-based international media group, has said its investment in its Media Division resulted in strong growth with e-commerce revenues up by more than 250% in the first six months compared to the whole of the last financial year.
This had been mainly driven by the group’s leading brand TechRadar, Future told shareholders in an update for the six months to March 31.
Trading in the pre-Christmas period had been “extremely strong” it said due to a number of exclusive phone deals. 
The performance of the Media Division, which includes Future’s main tech and gaming titles, meant overall trading for the year to date had been positive, the group said.
The restructuring of the group into Media and Magazine divisions was announced at the time of its full-year results last November and came at the end of an 18-month overhaul of the business that resulted in the loss of hundreds of jobs being lost and dozens of titles being sold.
The Media Division focuses on its global brands at the forefront of digital innovation, particularly in the high-growth tech and games markets.
The trading statement said the Magazine Division continued to “manage tightly” its portfolio of key titles, which showed year-on-year ABC (Audit Bureau of Circulations) growth and was taking advantage of a fragmented market through selected acquisitions.
Future recently acquired Noble House Media, a multi-platform publisher specialising in the tech sector. It owns Mobile Choice, a UK consumer mobile magazine and hosts the prestigious Mobile Choice Awards. Future said the acquisition would give “additional strength” to its tech portfolio.
In the year to September 30, 2015, Future made a pre-tax loss of £2.3m against a loss the previous year of £35.4m. Total sales fell from £66m to £59.8m.
Future chief executive Zillah Byng-Thorne said yesterday: “We have made a very encouraging start to this financial year. The investment in the new Media Division is paying off with strong growth in our new revenue streams, in particular e-commerce.”
She said other notable highlights for this division had been the successful launch of a new consumer gaming event – The PC Gaming Weekender – and another highly successful Photography Show.
“The Magazine division has stabilised and we are seeing an increase in our market share,” she added. “In a fragmented market, we also plan to grow this division through complementary acquisitions of leading brands – particularly in the technology sector – as demonstrated by our recent acquisition of Noble House Media.”
The Group expects to publish its results for the six months ended March 31 during the week commencing May 16.
