Shares in Future (FUTR) have risen nearly 20% to the 857p mark after it said (29 September) that its adjusted full year profits will now be £254.1 million ‘in line with board expectations.’

This figure represents ‘a turnaround’ of sorts for the publisher who warned back in May that its full year profits were likely to be ‘towards the bottom end of current market expectations’.The publisher also said in the short trading update ahead of its numbers for the year ending 30 September 2023 (scheduled for 7 December), that trading conditions continued to be mixed for the rest of 2023.

Future, which includes brands such as TechRadar, PC Gamer, Marie Claire and Country Life, said its ‘audience numbers had stabilised during the second half’ and it has had ‘positive month-on-month momentum in the final quarter’.

The recent rise in share price rise contrasts sharply to its year-to-date performance – a fall of nearly 33%, as the company struggles with a global advertising downturn.

Karl Burns, analyst at Canaccord Genuity is cautious about Future’s outlook: ‘Trading within the core Digital Media divisions (excluding comparison site GoCompare) remains challenging, with weak consumer spending in the digital advertising market. Digital advertising and affiliate product trends have been broadly in line with the first half, where both saw an H1 organic decline of 22% and 24%.’

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