Bath-based media group Future has returned to profit after a year in the red as it hailed the success of a major transformation of the business.
The publishing group, best known for its gaming, technology and creative magazines and websites, has slashed hundreds of jobs and sold off dozens of titles over the past year. 
That has resulted in a £400,000 operating profit for the six months to March 31 against a £5.3m operating loss last year not taking into account one-off items relating to the business shake-up.
However, the results show it remained in the red based on pre-tax losses, which came in at £1.3m – a marked improvement on the £24.3m loss last time.
Chief executive Zillah Byng-Maddick said the transformation programme that she led had started to deliver results and puts Future “on a stable footing”.
She added: “Both the UK and US businesses have reported profits in the first half – in the US this is the first time in seven years.
“Momentum is clearly building, with half our revenues now coming from digital and diversified activities. This is an important milestone for the business.”
She said the group expected the trends of the first half to continue into the second half of the current financial year.
Over the past 14 months it has shed more than 400 jobs in Bath and London and sold most of its sport and craft titles to Bristol-based rival Immediate Media for £23.8m and its auto titles to Kelsey Publishing for up to £2.3m.
Staffing levels are now below 600.
Future said its strategy was to create content that “connected with audiences, customers and consumers, underpinned by a leaner, simpler business and a strengthened balance sheet”.
A focus on digital and diversified products was paying off, said Future, with revenues up 2% year-on-year in these areas meaning, for the first time, they account for half total group revenues.
Total revenues were down year-14% on-year to £30.8m which Future said reflected its management of the decline in print and its exit from loss-making activities. However, its gross contribution margin doubled to 28% as the group focused on more profitable revenue activities.
