Magazine publisher Future says its earnings are improving as this year goes on.
Nine-month income is down three percent from last year, half-year income is down five percent, but Q3 income is up two percent from the same period last year
The gains are thanks to “some more positive trends in advertising” and not because actual magazine sales are growing – Future says UK circulation revenue “remains soft”, mostly because games magazines, which make up nearly a fifth of Future’s income, are still suffering, compared with a year ago, in the games industry’s general slump.
In the U.S., Future says both advertising and circulation “remain challenging” – revenue is down seven percent because the publisher has issued fewer special editions.
CEO Stevie Spring believes magazines can continue playing to consumers’ passions in specialist-interest areas and is trying to move Future in to publishing high-value editions like bookazines, titles with “3D HD” covers and a subscription-only title geared toward happy-to-pay World Of Warcraft addicts.