27th Nov 2015 07:37
LONDON (Alliance News) - Media group Future PLC Friday said it has raised GBP3.3 million in a share placing, which it will invest in its businesses to accelerate growth and profit generation, as it reported a significantly narrowed pretax loss for its most recently ended financial year.
Future said it has placed 33.4 million shares at a price of 10 pence, a 9.1% discount to its closing middle market price of 11.00 pence Thursday. The placing shares represent around 10% of the company's issued share capital prior to the placing.
It plans to funnel these funds into some segments of its business, namely e-commerce, events and digital advertising, which it said need investment to grow and develop.
Future said that by deploying these proceeds, it expects the business to be net cash generative by the financial year 2017, and to be generating underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and all other expenses margins of 8% in financial year 2016 and 12% in financial year 2017.
For the year to end-September the company reported a pretax loss of GBP2.3 million, narrowed from a pretax loss of GBP35.4 million a year before, despite revenue declining to GBP59.8 million from GBP66.0 million, as a result of hefty impairment charges and exceptional costs related to restructuring in the previous year.
Excluding exceptional costs, Future reported an operating profit of GBP800,000, swung from an operating loss of GBP10.3 million.
Future said it has undertaken a "substantial transformation" over its last year and a half, and following on from this it is now taking steps to optimise its business, beginning with splitting its business into two separately managed divisions, Media and Magazine.
"We have completed a substantial transformation of the business over the last 18 months, with 2015 being a year of building momentum. All territories are now profitable and we are seeing the acceleration of our growing digital and diversified revenue streams," said Chief Executive Zillah Byng-Thorne in a statement.
"The funds raised will enable us to invest in the rapid growth of the Media division. We look forwards with increasing confidence and expect to continue to grow the group's profitability in the current financial year," Byng-Thorne added.
By Hana Stewart-Smith; [email protected]; @HanaSSAllNews
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