FT Group reports 11% revenue rise (Guardian)

FT Group reports 11% revenue rise
Oliver Luft
guardian.co.uk,
Wednesday October 15 2008 10.06 BST
larger smaller
Article history
Financial Times publisher FT Group enjoyed an 11% year-on-year rise in total revenues for the first nine months of 2008, bucking the downward trend in recent newspaper sector financial results.
FT Group saw advertising revenue rising 1% over the same period, parent company Pearson reported today in a trading update.
The increase in circulation and advertising revenues was matched by an increase in interactive data revenue, which rose 8% over the same period in 2007, gaining from continued growth of new businesses, the trading update stated.
This group-wide increase included a revenue rise of 14% at FT Publishing, which houses the FT and the company's specialist trade titles, with Pearson saying it expected this part of the business to increase profits this year.
"The Financial Times and Mergermarket are continuing to increase their content revenues and build their audiences through the volatility in global financial markets," the company said.
"Mergermarket is achieving good sales growth and strong renewal rates. Operating profits continue to show good growth, as expected, and for the full year we expect FT Publishing to increase profits even if there is no growth in advertising revenues."
Overall in the first nine months of 2008 Pearson also saw revenue increase, up 8% year on year, with operating profit up 11%.
The company stated it continued to perform well despite the economic crisis, that trading was in line with expectations, and that earnings for the full year would be towards the top end of market estimates if the US dollar continued to strengthen against the pound.
Pearson reported strong growth in its education divisions, with overall revenue in this area up 10%.
These positive figures saw Pearson shares rise this morning, increasing 3.4% on last night's close to 578.50p at around 9.30am, amid another sharp general decline in the FTSE 100 in London in early trading.
"Pearson's strong performance continues. We're naturally cautious about the global economic conditions, but we have good trading momentum, innovative products, resilient businesses and a strong balance sheet," said the Pearson Group chief executive, Marjorie Scardino.
"With those advantages, we believe we are in good shape to prosper and strengthen our company, even through these turbulent times."
· To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email editor@mediaguardian.co.uk or phone 020 7239 9857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 7278 2332.
· If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication".

READ AN ALTERNATIVE IHT DAILY NARRATIVE AT
A PLACE IN THE AUVERGNE

International Herald Tribune
IHT
New York Times
NYT

Vacation /Business Trip Furnished Rental Apartment in Paris

Is Portfolio On the Rocks? (Cityfile.com)

http://cityfile.com/dailyfile/2314

Posted at 1:03PM on Oct 08, 2008
Condé Nast has devoted an enormous sum to launch its new business title, Portfolio: While initial estimates pegged the cost at $100 million, it was recently reported that the media conglomerate may be planning to spend $150 million to get the magazine off the ground. Since its debut in 2007, Portfolio has struggled to gain subscribers and advertisers, fired editors and hired new ones, changed its cover strategy, and emerged as the perpetual train wreck that media obsessives can't get enough of. But now we hear things are worse than ever. "With everything that's happened over the past few weeks, everyone is much more concerned," an insider tells us. For good reason.

Recently-released circulation figures show that despite editor-in-chief Joanne Lipman's decision to put actual human beings on the cover several months ago, just 15 percent of the copies placed on the newsstand during the first half of 2008 actually sold, a figure well below what will be necessary to make the magazine profitable. (The report also indicated that 22 percent of the magazines are distributed for free.) But there are plenty of other concerns. With the economy in shambles, advertisers are cutting back on their budgets, and the decrease in ad spending is expected to have a greater impact on the weaker titles in Condé's portfolio compared to the magazines with established audiences and advertisers. And although the economic downturn is benefiting financial news media outlets like CNBC, glossy titles that follow months behind current events clearly have difficulty keeping up with the turmoil unfolding on a daily basis.
"The website keeps up with daily news, sure," says our source. "But the magazine is the big cost center, and it's stale as soon as it hits the newsstand." Portfolio's September issue, for example, questioned whether Vikram Pandit and Citigroup would be able to survive the financial crisis. Citi, however, is still in business (at least for now); several of its rivals, however, haven't been quite as lucky. And while the web gives Portfolio an opportunity to offset the print magazine's datedness, Portfolio.com has generally failed to give its competitors a run for their money. The site debuted more than a year ago and yet it still garners just one-tenth the traffic of Forbes.com and is half the size of BusinessWeek, even after the magazine has embarked on any number of zany promotional efforts.
Rumors that Condé Nast chief Si Newhouse might kick Lipman to the curb aren't new; they've been circulating for close to a year. "But now it might actually happen," says the tipster. "It isn't beyond the pale to think that Condé Nast might shut the mag down entirely if things don't turn around in the next few months. We're all hoping that doesn't happen, but given the way the market is headed, none of us is counting it out either."
http://cityfile.com/dailyfile/2314

READ AN ALTERNATIVE IHT DAILY NARRATIVE AT
A PLACE IN THE AUVERGNE

International Herald Tribune
IHT
New York Times
NYT

Vacation /Business Trip Furnished Apartment in Paris