Future shares were up 6.5% to 1,653p in early afternoon trading on Friday following its completed acquisition of US women’s lifestyle publisher Who What Wear.
The group commented that the acquisition strengthened its position in the Women’s leading lifestyle vertical and provided the company with a larger scale and reach in North America to push its audience monetisation.
Future highlighted that Who What Wear would benefit from its proprietary technology stack and operating model to drive the platform effect.
The firm added that it had seen an encouraging start to HY2 2022 trading, which was supported by an anticipated return to audience growth as Covid-19 comparators were fully lapped and it showcased the resilience of its diversified business model.
“Media group Future pleasantly surprised the market by saying everything was going well with trading, triggering a big jump in the share price,” said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.
“The stock had previously been weak as investors feared its business model – making commission from product sales that originated from its online content – would suffer if consumers were cutting back on spending.”
Future noted that it continued to benefit from the effect of its diversified audiences and revenue streams, alongside its operating leverage, strong cash conversion and steady balance sheet. The group said it was on track to hit its FY 2022 financial guidance.
“I’m delighted that we have completed the acquisition of Who What Wear, which enhances our leadership position in the Women’s vertical, and delivers further scale and reach in North America, as we aim to reach 1 in 2 users online in the US,” said Future CEO Zillah Byng-Thorne.
“We continue to see positive momentum in trading with audiences back to growth. We remain confident our diversified strategy will continue to deliver and remain on track for another strong full-year of profitable growth.”