Digital content now more than half of FT’s revenue

The Financial Times Group released financial information for 2013 on Friday that showed that digital and services revenues accounted for 55 percent of FT Group revenues, up from 31 percent in 2008.

Content revenues comprised 63 percent of revenues, up from 48 percent in 2008, while advertising accounted for 37 percent of FT Group revenues, down from 52 percent in 2008.

In addition, the FT’s total circulation grew 8 percent year-on-year to 652,000 across print and online, the highest paying readership in its 126-year history.

FT.com digital subscriptions grew 31 percent to 415,000, more than offsetting planned reductions in print circulation. Digital subscribers now represent almost two-thirds of the FT’s total paying audience and corporate users grew nearly 60 percent to more than 260,000.

FT digital content revenues exceeded print content revenues in 2013 for the first time.

Mobile is an increasingly important channel for the FT, driving 62 percent of subscriber consumption, 45 percent of total traffic and almost a quarter of new digital subscriptions, according to the company.

The FT’s flagship web app now has more than 5 million users and new FT apps on Google Newsstand and Flipboard have strengthened our mobile offering. Other innovations, including launching 24-hour news service fastFT, redesigns to mobile apps and improvements to FT.com, have helped significantly increase overall digital engagement.