Shares in Future (FUTR) have been doing rather well since April after the publishing firm hailed a ‘return to organic growth’ in the second quarter.

Over the past month shares are up 56%, and last week they leapt 22% to within a whisker of their 12-month highs.

In a trading statement for the half ended in March, the firm said its return to growth was driven by a strong performance from price comparison site Go.Compare, which posted a 30% jump in revenue, good growth in B2B and a ‘resilient’ performance in magazines. 

The publishing firm took the opportunity while announcing its interim results to launch another £45 million share buyback programme, after having returned just under £36 million to shareholders since last August.

The Country Life and Marie Claire publisher also said it planned to invest between £25 million and £30 million over the next two years to make the business ‘more agile’ and ‘less complex.’

The group reported a 3% fall in statutory revenue to £391.1 million for the six months ending 31 March and a 30% fall in pre-tax profit, but although the environment remains challenging for the publishing firm, analysts at Shore Capital are convinced by the firm’s target of accelerated revenue growth and an improving margin over the next three years. 

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